Being a bachelor has its perks. It also has its downside. Just ask Derek Bettencourt.
Standing on stage and being auctioned off in the name of charity is awkward AF… until Derek’s business partner’s younger sister wins him for the weekend. He’s all hers to do with as she pleases and he can’t say he’s unhappy with the prospect. Especially since she saved him from an ex-fiancée determined to get her claws into him again.
Jessica Cavanaugh never intended to bid on her lifetime crush. But her spur-of-the-moment decision gives her a chance to exact a bit of playful payback, for old time’s sake. And Derek is all too happy to indulge Jessica’s whims.
What starts as a fun, flirty, game, with Derek acting as her personal handyman, quickly turns into a steamy, forbidden weekend. Lines are crossed that they never intended and emotions unravel their playful facades. Afterward, he can’t get the gorgeous, full-figured woman out of his head and he’s determined to make her his.
But how can they concentrate on a future when someone is threatened by their relationship and will do anything to come between them?
* A Dare Crossover novel featuring Derek Bettencourt from Carly Phillips’ novel, Just One Taste.
Carly Phillips is the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of over eighty sexy contemporary romances featuring hot men, strong women, and emotionally compelling stories her readers have come to expect and love.
She is happily married to her college sweetheart and lives in Westchester County, NY. She is the mother of two adult daughters and three crazy dogs who star on her Facebook and Instagram pages. She loves social media and is always around to interact with her readers. Way back in 2002, Carly’s book, The Bachelor, was chosen by Kelly Ripa and was the first romance on a nationally televised book club.
Carly loves social media and interacting with her readers. For more information on upcoming releases, sign up for her newsletter (below) and receive two free books!
To learn more about Carly and her books, visit here!
Meet Erika Wilde
Erika Wilde is a Bestselling author and is best known for her super sexy Marriage Diaries series and The Players Club series, and has also co-written multiple series with Carly Phillips, her best friend and writing buddy for the past twenty years.
She lives in Oregon with her husband, and when she’s not writing you can find her exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
For more information on her upcoming releases, please sign up for her newsletter (below).
To learn more about Erika and her books, visit here!
Cauldrons Call, by New York Times bestselling author Kristen Proby, is the highly-anticipated second book in The Curse of the Blood Moon series. Breena has known Giles all her life—and has loved him for nearly as long. Linked by the ties of family and coven, Breena has had a lifetime to discover everything there is to know about him. His intelligence and specialization in crystals and gems are truly things to admire, but it’s how he smiles at her that really makes her cauldron bubble. Too bad he’s completely oblivious. Giles isn’t as oblivious as Breena thinks he is. A powerful witch, he’s spent most of his life hiding his true feelings from her, but he can’t ignore the fact that she’s hurting and plagued by the same nightmares that haunt him every night. So, getting her to move in with him so he can do just that seems like simple common sense. The hard part will be resisting the way Breena makes him feel. But evil has invaded their world, and it has the power to kill every witch in Salem. Breena has no time to wallow in what might have been and Giles’ desire to protect her is stronger than the power contained in his crystals . Together they must lift the curse of the blood moon before time runs out. If they can’t, the people Breena loves the most are all in danger. It will take every skill she’s honed as a witch to protect what’s hers and the man who cast a spell on her heart. Will they have time to kindle their love for each other, or will the clock run out at the hands of fate?
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For those of you unfamiliar with Kristen Proby’s paranormal romances, I am here to tell you that it is time to come aboard! And if you’ve visited Kristen’s characters in haunted New Orleans, then you know that she can write creepy and intriguing with the best of them. CAULDRONS CALL, the second book in The Curse of Hallow’s End series, keeps the thrills, chills, and love coming, and is a perfect continuation of this series in all the best ways.
I love witchy reads, and Kristen, so was already invested in this series from the beginning. All of this, along with engaging characters, the whisper of time travel, and the ongoing storyline make for a book that I did not want to put down, and which has me super-excited for SALEM’S SONG, Lorelei’s and Xander’s story, and the wrap-up to the series. If you love Kristen and you love paranormal romance, do not miss out, jump into The Curse of Hallows End and enjoy! ❤️
Meet Kristen
Kristen Proby has published more than forty titles, many of which have hit the USA Today, New York Times and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists. She continues to self publish, best known for her With Me In Seattle and Boudreaux series, and is also proud to work with William Morrow, a division of HarperCollins, with the Fusion and Romancing Manhattan Series. Kristen and her husband, John, make their home in her hometown of Whitefish, Montana with their two cats and dog.
She’s my best friend’s little sister. Completely off-limits. But every man has his breaking point.
Into the Tide by Laura Pavlov is now live!
Lila James is my best friend’s little sister and I’ve always looked out for her. She’s five years younger than me, and when she left for college, she was just a kid. But now she’s home for the summer–and she’s definitely not a kid anymore. She’s beautiful and smart and everything I didn’t know I needed. Dark eyes. Long wavy hair. And legs that are meant to be wrapped around me. I’m the guy who likes to have a good time. Keep things light. When her brother asks me to hire her at my restaurant, it’s a no-brainer. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. Until she asks me for one more favor. She wants me to be her first. Take her V-card. Go where no man has gone before. Her words, not mine. And damn if I don’t want to go there more than I’ve ever wanted anything. She’s only here for the summer, and she says it will be our secret. It’s temporary. We’ll go back to being just friends at the end of summer. She promises that she won’t fall for me. She knows better. But Lila isn’t the one I’m worried about.
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Laura Pavlov writes sweet and sexy contemporary romance that will make you both laugh and cry. She is happily married to her college sweetheart, mom to two awesome almost-grown kids, and dog-whisperer to one temperamental yorkie and one wild bernedoodle. Laura resides in Las Vegas where she is living her own happily ever after. Be sure to sign up for updates on new releases. Laura loves to hear from readers!
I’ve got a list of people I absolutely don’t ever want to be stuck with on a boat, or a plane, or a train, and it starts and ends with the broody, grumpy, too-sexy-for-my-own good Axel Huxley.
Also known as this romance novelist’s number one nemesis.
The man is legendary for his mighty pen and his even mightier scowl. I tried to work together with the cocky thriller writer once upon a time, but the two of us are like vodka and good decisions. We don’t play well together.
Only now, our publishers are sending us on a joint trip across Europe to mingle with our most devoted readers on an old-fashioned luxury train. And thanks to a booking snafu, we have to share a sleeper car.
You guessed it–there’s only one bed.
I’m not sure I can survive the next seven days and nights with my dangerously sexy enemy and all our fiery tension.
Which explodes one night in a desperately needed hate bang.
But the bigger plot twist is this – the more time we spend together, visiting the most romantic cities in Europe by day and discovering each other at night, the more I’m forced to face our past.
To let go of the hurt.
To see the man he’s become.
And when I do, I wonder if it’s too late to write a new happy ending for us?
MY SO-CALLED SEX LIFE is a standalone M/F romantic comedy!
About Lauren Blakely:
A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible
Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s
sexy, sweet, and witty. She also writes USA Today bestselling LGBTQ romance.
With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York
Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than 100 times, with
more than 65 titles on the USA Today Bestsellers list alone. She’s sold more than 5 million books. A Brown University graduate, Lauren likes dogs, cake and show tunes and is the vegetarian at your dinner party.
From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a friends-to-lovers story spanning more than a decade…
At first, I thought I’d hate spending the summer with Archie Remington—the conceited son of my parents’ friends.
What I knew about Archie: he was gorgeous, pre-law, and had always treated me like I didn’t exist when we were younger.
When our families bought a house together on an island in Maine, he and I were forced to share a bathroom.
The boy I remembered was now a full-grown man—but with the same attitude.
After a rough start, Archie and I unexpectedly started getting along one day and eventually became friends. We shared secrets and bonded during our morning jogs. I discovered that Archie had a wild spirit and that he struggled to conform to his father’s expectations.
Things were cool until I had to go and ruin it, getting drunk one night, and blurting out my fantasy—involving him.
I took it back, but it was too late. Archie had heard me loud and clear. After that, we never quite knew how to toe the line.
When that summer came to an abrupt and shocking end, I headed back to college, unsure if anything would ever be the same again.
Across the miles over the years, he and I stayed in touch as friends, but fate and timing always kept us from becoming more.
You know the saying: If two people are meant to be, they’ll find their way back to each other?
Let’s just say Archie came back into my life in a way I would’ve never expected.
And this time, my heart would really be put to the test.
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.
That’s true unless your new husband – who is much younger than you by the way – doesn’t actually want a divorce when you both sober up.
Or, of course, if you get pregnant – the last thing you need right after becoming the new GM to a failing pro hockey team.
I guess you could say this year won’t be easy.
Especially for me, the owner.
About the Author:
Xavier Neal is a best-selling romance author who enjoys hopping from sub genre to sub genre like a game of Hopscotch she can’t resist.
In between writing, she loves to read (everything from romance to self improvement books), watch movies (old and new), eat too much Tex-Mex (her Chuy’s t-shirt collection is out of control), and watch AHL hockey games LIVE (preferably against the glass whenever possible).
She currently resides happily in Texas with her bearded husband “Lumberjack” and their two fur babies.
Time has changed the girl he left behind—and the sexy woman won’t fall into his bed so easily.
Lissa Gardelli’s journalism career is about to take a big leap forward, thanks to scoring an interview with Wall Street wonder, Trevor Dane. There’s just one hurdle: keeping her identity a secret until she gets in the door.
Trevor Dane has arrived—corner office, seven-figure income, and women at the snap of his fingers. A profile piece in the
News Journal is just icing on the cake. Until he lays eyes on his interviewer, the high school sweetheart who’s haunted his dreams for ten long years.
The sparks between them still burn, and business quickly ignites into pleasure. But Lissa is keeping one last secret…one that could either solidify their reunion, or drive them apart—for good.
Note: Kismet was previously published under the title Suddenly Love by NYT bestselling author Carly Phillips. Contains a woman who’s clawing her way up from the bottom, a high-powered broker at the top of his game—and one little secret he never saw coming.
NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestseller, Carly Phillips gives her readers Alphalicious heroes to swoon for and romance to set your heart on fire.
She married her college sweetheart and lives in Purchase, NY along with her three crazy dogs: two wheaten terriers and a mutant Havanese, who are featured on her Facebook and Instagram.
The author of 50 romance novels, she has raised two incredible daughters who put up with having a mom as a full time writer.
Carly’s book, The Bachelor, was chosen by Kelly Ripa as a romance club pick and was the first romance on a nationally televised bookclub.
Carly loves social media and interacting with her readers.
Want to keep up with Carly? Sign up for her newsletter (below) and receive TWO FREE books at www.carlyphillips.com.
To learn more about Carly and her books, visit here!
Three Strikes And You’re Mine by R.S. Grey is out now! Check out the gorgeous new sports rom-com and be sure to grab your copy today!
Title: Three Strikes And You’re Mine
Author: R.S. Grey
Genre: Contemporary Romance
About Three Strikes And You’re Mine:
Dear Past Me,
Future You here, coming to offer a little advice: hang on for dear life. This summer is going to be a wild one. I know what you’re thinking: Life’s going so well! I don’t have a care in the world! Wrong. That culinary career you love so much? It’s about to go up in smoke, and your boyfriend? Yeah…he’s a goner too. If only love were as simple as, say, actually adding yourself to the lease agreement so you don’t suddenly find yourself loveless, jobless, and homeless!
Did your five-year plan include moving back in with your family and sharing a bed with your Nonna? No? Well, hate to break it to you…it’s exactly as traumatizing as it sounds.
Have you had enough? Too bad. Buckle up—it gets worse. Your new boss is a professional baseball player, and he’s hot, like really hot, but you’ll pretend not to notice because he’s a single dad and it feels wrong to ogle him in front of his innocent child. Unfortunately, he thinks you’re sexy as hell too. Unrequited love is one thing; mutual off-limits pining destined to explode in the worst of ways? What could go wrong…wrong…wrong… (That’s me fading out because you have to take it from here, kid. Good luck! Don’t screw this up for me.)
R.S. Grey is the USA Today bestselling author of over twenty novels. She lives in Texas with her husband and daughter, and can be found reading, binge-watching reality TV, or practicing yoga! Visit her at rsgrey.com
A second chance, friends to lovers romantic suspense set in the Scottish Highlands.
Only You by Samantha Young is now live!
Once upon a time, Monroe Sinclair was Brodan Adair’s best friend, but now he’s a stranger and one of Hollywood’s leading men… It took Monroe Sinclair eighteen years to return home to Ardnoch after a fateful night that devastated her friendship with Brodan Adair. She fled her unrequited love for him, as well as her difficult family life, and tried not to look behind her. Only a daughter’s guilt could lure her back to the Highlands and the assumption that Brodan Adair rarely ever sets foot in their hometown. She can handle seeing the rest of the Adairs so long as she can avoid her ex-best friend and the only man she’s ever loved.
Nothing is more important to Brodan than family, and only his demons have the power to keep him from them. For years, acting was something he was lucky enough to be good at, yet it wasn’t his priority—Ardnoch and his siblings were. But when a ghost from his past returned out of the blue, Brodan tried to outrun its haunting, taking him further and further from home. When exhaustion finally forces him back to the family fold, the last thing he wants is to encounter another ghost. But that’s exactly what Monroe Sinclair has been to him. When a promise to his nephew obliges Brodan to work with Monroe, it forces them to face their past. The explosive connection that has always existed between them resurrects truths long buried. Yet, just when they might be on the brink of a second chance, the ghost from Brodan’s past finally catches up to him and threatens not just their happiness, but their very lives.
Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo!
Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She’s been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. Samantha writes adult contemporary and paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy and YA contemporary fiction and is currently published in 31 countries.
Time and space had done nothing to change his feelings for MaeBe.
The Dom Who Came In From The Cold by Lexi Blake is now live!
Kyle Hawthorne will do anything to protect MaeBe in this exciting new novel from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake. USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake.
Kyle Hawthorne once believed his future would be a job in the private sector—a simple, normal life. Fate had other plans and he wound up in the military. Some newly discovered talents caught the eye of the CIA, and in no time he was working with a covert team. He found himself in a relationship with fellow operative, Julia—until she turned out to be the enemy. When her betrayal was uncovered, things got bloody and Kyle returned home broken, searching for a chance to walk the road not taken.
MaeBe Vaughan has never been interested in normal. Her happy place is a dark corner of the Internet, where she disrupts all the bad guys. She has a great circle of friends and a full life. She doesn’t need a man. Until Kyle Hawthorne walked into her life. He’s all wrong for her. Surly. Damaged. His uncle is her boss. But she couldn’t help getting close to him. When his past threatened her safety, Kyle walked out without saying good-bye.
Kyle will do anything to keep MaeBe safe. He faked his death, hid in the middle of nowhere, and watched over her from afar. But when Julia resurfaces, he knows that to protect MaeBe, he’ll have to get close. So close that if they manage to survive, he will never let her go.
Download today on Amazon, Audible, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, Kobo!
“Whatever you did before doesn’t matter. We made our deal, and I know neither of us has seen anyone since.” “No. I didn’t want anyone else. I don’t think I ever will.” “Oh, I intend to make sure you won’t ever again. This is it for me, MaeBe Vaughn. You’re my endgame. Always.”
I think that it’s safe to say that THE DOM WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD is the book that I have been waiting for for a verrrry long time. Author Lexi Blake has made the relationship between Kyle Hawthorne and MaeBe Vaughn the slowest of slow burns, and, finally, here we are.
I’m going to be honest. Back in my early days of reading and reviewing, did I think that I would be in love with a world like this one? Heck, no. But then came Ian Taggart and all of his big, crazy family, by blood and by choice, and there was no looking back.
I am completely spoiled by Lexi’s writing in this, the Masters and Mercenaries world, and every other that she’s created. Being deeply invested in the characters, I have been waiting to see these two get their HEA, and, oh, my gosh, did Lexi bring it. Kyle and MaeBe are not perfect, but it’s their quirks, and the ability they have to love each other because, not in spite, of them, that make them really perfect for each other. And, really, with the entirety of the McKay and Taggart families and everyone that they’ve brought in, there was no way that this story wouldn’t end exactly the way that I hoped.
There’s all of the requisite suspense here, and, of course, all of the steam (hello, Sanctum), resulting in a book that I could not put down, and that was all that I’d hoped it would be. Easily one of my favorites in this world (and that’s saying something), THE DOM WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD is a must read for Lexi’s fans both seasoned and new. Grab it, read it, love it. You can thank me later. ❤️
EXCERPT:
“Do you think he’s going to kill you? I know the man seems scary but he’s not. The key with Big Tag is to give as good as you get. Like fight his sarcasm with sarcasm. When he asks how my broom ride in was, I smile and ask him if he rode in on the back of a brontosaurus from his age. I know that sounds harsh, but it made him laugh, and now we’re cool. I spent the first couple of weeks terrified by him, thinking he was this big bully, but he’s actually the sweetest guy.”
The words had been said with a slightly husky feminine tone, and when he turned, sure enough there was a woman. A young woman who looked like she’d walked off the pages of a goth comic book. She was petite, a good foot shorter than him, with two purple pig tails, and she liked black. She had on a black miniskirt with sparkly suspenders over a black button-up. Dark green leggings and combat boots completed the look.
She was absolutely nothing like the two types of women he’d been surrounded by the last decade of his life. Military women who kept things neat and clean and practical, or the sophisticated crowd he’d run in when he’d been a spy. Women who were polished and thought out every single word they said and action made.
The first he would have nodded and made some simple conversation with. The second he would spend some time figuring out to ensure they weren’t here to spy on him.
He had absolutely no idea what to do with the woman in front of him. “Uh, I don’t think he’s going to kill me.”
She was weirdly fascinating. And just plain weird. She had a messenger bag over her shoulder, and the wide strap was decorated with a bunch of buttons, one which proclaimed her the Mistress of Code. She seemed to like code and the color green since she had a big button with the words I Always Play Green and some weird figure on it. “Confident. I like it. Are you a client or a new hire?” She gasped as she seemed to think of something. “Or a new vendor? Because if you are trying to sell the big guy anything that’s not a lemon tart, he might kill you. We should rethink this.”
It was her smile that did it. A small uptick of lips that let him know she was fucking with him and probably fucked with every guy in her life. Not in a “I’m looking to screw you over, take your secrets, and then probably murder you on the way out the door” way he’d gotten used to. In the “I don’t take life too seriously” way. Like the women he’d been friends with in college. The ones he’d been comfortable with in another lifetime. In the life he’d had before he’d so brutally destroyed everything around him.
He should walk away from this woman. He was toxic, and his world for so long had been blood and secrets and death. She wouldn’t even know how to walk in his world. She also wasn’t his type. The last thing he needed was even a casual flirtation.
“I’m the new guy.” He held out a hand. “Name’s Kyle Hawthorne. I’m starting in the bodyguard unit today.”
She was completely harmless. It wouldn’t hurt to talk to the cute goth chick while he was here. He wouldn’t be here forever. He was giving this two months tops. That should be enough time to satisfy his family and the higher-ups at the CIA that he wasn’t going to do something dangerous. And then he would go do something dangerous.
She reached out, that smile turning into something truly glorious. Her black-tinged lips spread and showed even white teeth, but it was the way that smile lit up her eyes that made him pause. “MaeBe.”
Oh, she was playing with fire because for the first time in months he felt his groin tighten as he took her hand in his and felt an actual fucking spark that probably wasn’t static electricity. He couldn’t help the way his own lips curled up, and the words that flowed out of his mouth could have come from his twenty-year-old self. “Maybe? I would say that’s a little presumptuous of you, but I think I’ll go with it.”
Meet Lexi
New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband and three kids. Since starting her publishing journey in 2010, she’s sold over three million copies of her books. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings. Find out more about Lexi on her website, follow her on Twitter, like her on her Facebook page, or friend her on her Facebook profile.
Saucy Southern Readers 