Presley Hale and Sebastian Vargas are no strangers to goodbye. Their high school summers were spent wrapped up in each other until she would inevitably go home to California. One season after college, Sebastian finally escaped the little Texas town to travel the world, and they said goodbye for what they thought might be the last time.
Sebastian went one way. Presley went the other.
For the first time in five years, they’re both in town, but the timing is no better than ever. So the only thing to do is what they do best. Keep it casual.
Friends with benefits.
They’ve done it before—doing it again will be easy.
But their hearts don’t get the memo.
When the lines of their arrangement blur, Presley and Sebastian are faced with decisions they’ve avoided for years. And that’s not even their biggest problem.
A small town in danger of failing.
A secret that could tear them apart.
And two hearts that can’t hide anymore.
They’ve shared so many summers, but none compare to what they’ll face.
Timing is everything.
And their time is almost up.
Staci has been a lot of things up to this point in her life — a graphic designer, an entrepreneur, a seamstress, a clothing and handbag designer, a waitress. Can’t forget that. She’s also been a mom, with three little girls who are sure to grow up to break a number of hearts. She’s been a wife, though she’s certainly not the cleanest, or the best cook. She’s also super, duper fun at a party, especially if she’s been drinking whiskey. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, sleeping, gaming, or designing graphics.
Reckless, an all new opposites attract standalone romance from USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke is coming April 8th, and we have the delicious cover!
“How did you get in here?”
That’s not what you want to hear when you’re staring into the sea-green eyes of the hottest man you’ve ever seen. Yet I suppose it’s a fair question, considering I’m an uninvited stranger standing in Boone Mason’s kitchen.
If you think that’s bad—just wait. It gets worse.
This charming and wealthy playboy, who can’t pay his bills on time or find his way to the grocery store (but we all have flaws, right?), is sweet. Confident. Playful. He’s almost perfect. And, to make matters worse …
He’s smitten with me.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re rolling your eyes. You’re assuming this is some opposites attract situation—or that maybe we can be friends who turn into something more.
How can this be a bad thing?
Well, it’s simple. I’m not the kind of girl you fall in love with. Just to be sure, the universe reminds me of that in an unforgettable, in-your-face kind of way.
I might have broken into Boone’s house, but I won’t let him break my heart. I won’t break his either. There’s too much on the line to be that reckless.
USA Today, Washington Post, and Amazon Charts Bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.
She resides in the Midwest with her husband, four sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.
Tattered Stars, an all new emotional small town standalone romance from author Catherine Cowles is coming February 1, 2022, and we have the gorgeous cover!
Be brave. Just for sixty seconds. Twenty breaths.
One night changed them both forever.
Their lives shattered, beyond repair, with jagged edges and pieces askew.
Now, Everly has a chance to make things right. To bring healing to the place where everything fell apart. But it means facing the family her father almost destroyed, and the boy with the dark eyes—now grown—who still haunts her dreams.
Just one breath away from having your life ripped out from under you.
The last thing Hayes wants is another reminder of all the ways he failed sixteen years ago. When Everly drives back into Wolf Gap, his only mission is to get her to leave. For his family’s sake, and for his own, those demons need to stay buried for good.
But everything about this woman is a surprise, from her spine of steel to the sanctuary she hopes to create with the land her mother left behind. And Hayes is powerless to stay away.
As a careful friendship sparks into something more, someone watches. And they’ll do anything to tear it all apart…
About Catherine Cowles Writer of words. Drinker of Diet Cokes. Lover of all things cute and furry, especially her dog. Catherine has had her nose in a book since the time she could read and finally decided to write down some of her own stories. When she’s not writing she can be found exploring her home state of Oregon, listening to true crime podcasts, or searching for her next book boyfriend.
Sometimes love finds you in the most unexpected places.
Claudia Burgoa has revealed the cover for As We Are!
Releasing: June 1, 2021
Cover Design: Hang Le
From USA TODAY Bestselling Author Claudia Burgoa comes a single-dad sports romance where the only thing more heartfelt than the small town is the love story.
I never wanted to go back to Baker’s Creek.
But when it rains, it pours. I lost my job, lost the guy, and lost the house. The perfect trifecta of ruin.
Ten years after I said I can make it on my own, I have no choice but to ask for help. But it’s my mother who needs me now…
So it’s back to where I don’t belong.
There’s no opportunity in my hometown. The only job that I can get is nannying. For a player from the Vancouver Orcas. “Mean” Mills Aldridge is going to be my new boss… and I’m supposed to pretend he isn’t sex on skates.
Between avoiding the town mean girls, helping my parents, and trying not to behave like a puck bunny, my job with that sweet boy is fast becoming just like the rest of my life–one big complication.
My only escape is my late-night chats with Mills.
The confessions we share make me feel like I belong. The stolen kisses make it hard to remember why I ever left.
Until the opportunity I’ve been waiting for arrives, and it’s time for me to say goodbye.
But can I leave that little boy and his father behind?
The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers series is a romantic comedy saga that’s swoonful and sexy, with the right mix of ugly-cry moments and sweet seductions.
Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author.
She writes alluring, thrilling stories about complicated women and the men who take their breath away. She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband and her youngest two children.
She has a sweet Bichon, Macey, who thinks she’s the ruler of the house. She’s only partially right.
When Claudia is not writing, you can find her reading, knitting, or just hanging out with her family. At night, she likes to binge-watch shows with her equally geeky husband.
I am the man who can make every dream come true, for a price.
Years ago, a fight for supremacy took place between the two most powerful families in New Orleans. The battle was set in the metaphoric octagon, with the spotlight blazing. The city sat in paralyzed fear, awaiting word of a victor.
Abraham Ramses versus Isaiah Boudreau.
One man would emerge victorious and rule the city of sin.
Neither understood that the devil was in the details.
Neither lived to see the rising sun.
I’m Everett Ramses, son of Abraham, and I am the devil.
I took my rightful place as king of New Orleans.
Now, my realm is threatened by a man with false claims to the Boudreau family.
I know what I must have to secure my empire—who I must have.
The rightful daughter of Isaiah Boudreau, Emma North, must be my wife. Together we will reign stronger than ever before. But first, she must take the devil’s deal.
*DEVIL’S DEAL is a full-length novel that begins with the prequel FATE’S DEMAND previously titled The Deal.
Aleatha Romig is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana, USA. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Aleatha has raised three children with her high school sweetheart and husband of over thirty years. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns, she likes to spend her time a with her family and friends. Her other pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams and bring your imagination to life!
Aleatha released her first novel, CONSEQUENCES, in August of 2011. CONSEQUENCES became a bestselling series with five novels and two companions released from 2011 through 2015. The compelling and epic story of Anthony and Claire Rawlings has graced more than half a million e-readers. Aleatha released the first of her series TALES FROM THE DARK SIDE, INSIDIOUS, in the fall of 2014. These stand alone thrillers continue Aleatha’s twisted style with an increase in heat.
In the fall of 2015, Aleatha moved head first into the world of dark romantic suspense with the release of BETRAYAL, the first of her five novel INFIDELITY series that has taken the reading world by storm. She also began her traditional publishing career with Thomas and Mercer. Her books INTO THE LIGHT and AWAY FROM THE DARK were published through this mystery/thriller publisher in 2016.
In the spring of 2017, Aleatha released her first stand-alone, fun, and sexy romantic comedy with PLUS ONE, followed by the sweet stand-alone, ONE NIGHT.
Aleatha is a “Published Author’s Network” member of the Romance Writers of America and PEN America. She is represented by Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
Samantha Young has revealed the cover for Here With Me!
Releasing: May 11, 2021
Cover Design: Hang Le
Settled in the tranquil remoteness of the Scottish Highlands, Ardnoch Estate caters to the rich and famous. It is as unattainable and as mysterious as its owner –ex-Hollywood leading man Lachlan Adair–and it’s poised on the edge of a dark scandal.
After narrowly escaping death, police officer Robyn Penhaligon leaves behind her life in Boston in search of some answers. Starting with Mac Galbraith, the Scottish father who abandoned her to pursue his career in private security. To re-connect with Mac, Robyn will finally meet a man she’s long resented. Lachlan Adair. Hostility instantly brews between Robyn and Lachlan. She thinks the head of the Adair family is high-handed and self-important. And finding closure with Mac is proving more difficult than she ever imagined. Robyn would sooner leave Ardnoch, but when she discovers Mac is embroiled in a threat against the Adairs and the exclusive members of the estate, she finds she’s not yet ready to give up on her father.
Determined to ensure Mac’s safety, Robyn investigates the disturbing crimes at Ardnoch, forcing her and Lachlan to spend time together. Soon it becomes clear a searing attraction exists beneath their animosity, and temptation leads them down a perilous path. While they discover they are connected by something far more addictive than passion, Lachlan cannot let go of his grip on a painful past: a past that will destroy his future … if the insidious presence of an enemy lurking in the shadows of Ardnoch doesn’t do the job first.
Samantha is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of over forty books, several of which have been nominated for Goodreads Choice Awards. She writes adult contemporary and paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy and YA contemporary fiction. Her books have been published in 28 languages in 30 countries. She resides in Scotland.
**No Amazon e-book pre-order. Will go live on/around release day and will be available in Kindle Unlimited. (Ward and Keeland’s *co-written books only* are available in KU. Their solo books are wide and not in KU.)
PENELOPE WARD
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over a hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-five languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
At Santa Cruz Central High School, they called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys…
Ronan Wentz has been to hell and back, and he carries the scars to prove it. Worse, the blood of a monster runs through his veins. After ten years in foster care, eighteen-year-old Ronan is finally reunited with family. His uncle gives him roof over his head and puts him to work, managing a shabby apartment complex in Santa Cruz, California.
But a second chance is still a second chance. Ronan becomes a solitary hunter, a vigilante, walking the streets at night to keep the nightmares at bay. If he can use the anger burning in his tainted blood to protect instead of hurt, maybe then he’ll find the absolution he seeks.
Then he meets Shiloh.
Shiloh Barrera looks like she has it all together. Smart, ambitious and full of artistic creativity she channels into making beautiful one-of-kind jewelry. But Shiloh’s cool, capable demeanor is all a front. Her demons drive her to succeed as much as her ambition. To prove her worth to the mother who can’t stand to look at her, and who’s harboring secrets of her own.
When Shiloh and Ronan meet, the physical attraction is instant and scorching. Neither believe it will last. Falling in love is an impossible pipe dream saved for those less shattered and damaged than they are.
But as hard as they try to resist, the growing feelings between them seem inevitable… until one terrible night destroys Shiloh’s dreams and Ronan’s future. When the smoke clears, and the rubble settles, they’ll have to choose – do their pasts determine their future, or can they build a new one from the broken pieces of their hearts?
Lost Boys is a new series of interconnected, coming-of-age standalones from USA Today bestselling author Emma Scott.
Emma Scott is a USA Today and Wall St. Journal bestselling author whose books have been translated in five languages and featured in Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, New York Daily News and USA Today’s Happy Ever After. She writes emotional, character-driven romances in which art and love intertwine to heal, and in which love always wins. If you enjoy emotionally-charged stories that rip your heart out and put it back together again, with diverse characters and kind-hearted heroes, you will enjoy her novels. Visit http://www.emmascottwrites.com
RECENT RELEASES
Someday, Someday (M/M standalone)
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Bring Down the Stars (Beautiful Hearts #1)
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COMING SOON:
A new YA/NA series of interconnected standalones, coming in 2020
“At Santa Cruz Central High, we called them the misfits, the outcasts, the weirdos. But most of us knew them as the Lost Boys.”
It was the perfect plan. I needed a wife–temporarily–in order to inherit the family business. And she needed a favor–the kind that takes nine months to deliver.
Call Me Crazy, an all-new marriage of convenience, small town romance from USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow is coming February 22nd and we have the stunning cover!
We had it all worked out, from the no-touching policy on our wedding night (her rule) to the no-falling-in-love decree (mine). She’d marry me, I’d give her the means to have the baby she’d always wanted, and one year later we’d amicably part ways with no hassle, no demands, and certainly no regrets.
After all, Bianca DeRossi and I are experts at infuriating one another–we’ve been doing it since we were kids. Trouble is, she grew up gorgeous and feisty, and she still knows exactly how to get under my skin.
And that wedding night? Well, it doesn’t exactly go down hands-free.
Then she moves in with me, and I really start to lose my mind. From her sexy little pout to her wicked sense of humor to those meatball sandwiches she makes just because she knows they’re my favorite . . . I find myself wanting to break every rule we put in place.
Our story was never supposed to end with happily ever after. But call me crazy, I just might be in love with my wife.
Cover Designer: Hang Le Photographer: Michelle Lancaster @lanefotograf Model: JJ Michaels
About Melanie
USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow likes her martinis dry, her heels high, and her history with the naughty bits left in. When she’s not writing or reading, she gets her kicks from TV series like Schitt’s Creek, Homeland, and Fleabag. She occasionally runs three miles, but only so she can have more gin and steak.
Melanie is the author of the CLOVERLEIGH FARMS series, the ONE & ONLY series, AFTER WE FALL series, the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series, the FRENCHED series, and the sexy historical SPEAK EASY duet, set in the 1920s. She lifts her glass to romance readers and writers from her home near Detroit, MI, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and pet rabbit.
“Audrey Carlan has a way with words that cannot be denied.” –Kylie Scott, New York Times bestselling author
Wild Beauty, an all-new beautifully written contemporary romance in the Soul Sisters series of standalones by #1 New York Times bestselling author Audrey Carlan is releasing April 5th, and we have the stunning cover!
My life has never been easy. Not from the day I took my first breath until now. Only days old, I was placed in a laundry basket and left in front of a firehouse. I never knew who my parents were before being shuffled around from one bad foster home to another. Until the day I arrived at Kerrighan House.
My safe haven.
My home.
I was welcomed with open arms into a world where love and sisterhood were the rule, not the exception. From that moment on, I believed I was safe. That nothing bad could touch me.
I was so wrong.
Neither my success as a full-figured lingerie and fashion model nor my street smarts as a born and bred Chicago native, safeguarded me against walking into the clutches of a monster.
As I try to pull my life back together, I’m brought face to face with a man whose wounds mirror my own. Under his protection, I’m gifted the opportunity to find beauty where there has only ever been pain. And yet, danger lurks, as a new evil threatens to bring me to my knees.
Can my savior protect me, or has my fate been sealed?
Note: Each book in the Soul Sister series can be read as a standalone.
Audrey Carlan is a #1 New York Times and International bestselling author. Her titles have appeared on USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Audrey writes wicked hot love stories that have been translated in over thirty different languages across the globe. She is best known for the world-wide bestselling series Calendar Girl and Trinity. She lives in the California Valley where she enjoys her two children and the love of her life. When she’s not writing, you can find her teaching yoga, sipping wine with her “soul sisters,” or with her nose stuck in a steamy romance novel.
Saucy Southern Readers 
