We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Release Day Launch for 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Nine, brought to you by 1001 Dark Nights. Introducing Discovery authors Melanie Harlow and Lili Valente, the Bundle contains 6 novellas, including novellas from New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Carrie Ann Ryan, Heather Graham, Jennifer Probst, and Christopher Rice! Grab your copy of this incredible bundle today!
About 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Nine:
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Carrie Ann Ryan, Heather Graham, Jennifer Probst, Christopher Rice, and introducing Melanie Harlow and Lili Valente.
Six Dark Tales. Six Sensual Stories. Six Page Turners.
Hidden Ink by Carrie Ann Ryan
Hailey Monroe knows the world isn’t always fair, but she’s picked herself up from the ashes before. Sloane Gordon lived through the worst kinds of hell yet the temptation next door sends him to another level. He’s kept his distance but when she comes to him with a proposition, he’ll do everything in his power to protect her.
Blood on the Bayou by Heather Graham
When a family friend receives a message from the Blood Bayou killer—It’s your turn to pay, blood on the bayou—he comes to Danni Cafferty for help. Cafferty and Quinn soon realize that a gruesome local history is being repeated. They find themselves in a fight to save not just a friend, but, perhaps, their very own lives.
Searching for Mine by Jennifer Probst
Connor Dunkle knows what he wants in a woman, and it’s the three B’s. Beauty. Body. Boobs. Other women need not apply. Ella Blake is a single mom and a professor at the local Verily college. When sparks fly, neither of them are ready to face their true feelings, but will love teach them the ultimate lesson of all?
Dance of Desire by Christopher Rice
From New York Times bestselling author Christopher Rice, comes a steamy, emotional tale of forbidden romance between a woman struggling to get her life on its feet and the gorgeous cowboy her father kept her from marrying years before.
Some Sort of Happy by Melanie Harlow
Skylar Nixon. She’s even more beautiful than I remember. Ten years ago she was an impossible dream, and now she’s right here in front of me, offering everything I ever wanted. But happiness never lasts, not for someone like me.
Sebastian Pryce. He’s the most complicated, frustrating, beautiful man I’ve ever met, and my body craves his with a hunger I’ve never known. My heart is his completely. Why won’t he let me in?
Magnificent Bastard by Lili Valente
Face it, ladies: love sucks and then you cry…while your ex rides off into the sunset banging your best friend. But why let a break-up end in tears when it can end with sweet revenge? Enter Magnificent Bastard Consulting and me, chief executive bastard. With the help of my virtual assistant, I’ve built an empire giving broken-hearted women the vengeance they deserve, while keeping myself far from the front lines of the heart. Until my virtual assistant shows up on my real doorstep for the first time, begging for a Magnificent Bastard intervention of her own.
Every Dark Nights tale is breathtakingly sexy and magically romantic.
Tracey’s Review
What’s better than one story by one author that you love? A whole bundle of them, together in one book. The 1001 Dark Nights series is a take on the Arabian Nights, where tales were told for 1,001 nights to keep the heroine from a horrible fate. Bundle 9 in this series is a compilation of some of my favorite authors, and a great way to find several really great stories bundled. Below are just a few of the stories you’ll find in this bundle.
SEARCHING FOR MINE by Jennifer Probst:
Connor Dunkle wasn’t looking for a lesson on women when he enrolled in teacher Ella Blake’s English class. No, what Connor wanted was to ace the class so that he could graduate and get on with his life. But Ella isn’t settling for anything but Connor’s best, and she’ll get it from him no matter what. And when the two find themselves far more involved in each other’s live than they’d anticipated, both Connor and Ella find out things about themselves that they weren’t expecting.
Author Jennifer Probst is a favorite of mine. Her stories are always so full of heart, of self-discovery, of learning to trust the safe place offered by someone completely unexpected. Written as part of the 1001 Dark Nights novella series, SEARCHING FOR MINE is a story in Jennifer’s Searching For series, and is a sweet and sexy addition.
There were times that I just wanted to pinch Connor. He comes across as sort of superficial, especially where women and relationships are concerned, something that really drives Ella crazy. For her part, Ella has been disappointed by life and love, and doesn’t do much to mask her disdain for Connor and the way that he’s living his life. She refuses to let him skate by or take the easy way out, and ends up teaching him far more about life and himself than he ever expected when he signed up for her class.
I love the back and forth between Ella and Connor, and Ella’s son, Luke, is both sweet and snarky, completing the circle of family that is built in this story. SEARCHING FOR MINE is an easy 4.5 stars for me, and I recommend it for fans of Jennifer’s books.
MAGNIFICENT BASTARD by Lili Valente:
Got an ex that needs to be taught a lesson? Need a love connection intervention? Look no further: Sebastian ‘Bash’ Prince, head honcho and Magnificent Bastard extraordinaire, is your man. With the help of his Girl Friday, Penny, Bash will help you have the last laugh as you leave your former Prince Charming in your rear-view mirror. But what happens when the master of the art of magnificent bastardry falls hook, line, and sinker? Ah, the tangled web of love…
There isn’t one book that Lili Valenti has written that I have not absolutely loved. Stories filled with intrigue, white-hot passion, and angsty characters never fail to satisfy my yen for a darker read. But, guess what? Lovely Lili has outdone herself with this one. MAGNIFICENT BASTARD is, and I do not say this lightly, probably one of my favorite of her books to date, hands down, and one of my favorites of this year.
While I love a darker angstier read, it’s no secret that I am also a huge fan of the books that leave me with a light heart, where everything comes together just like I hoped that it would, where everyone ends up just where they should be, and all is right with the world, a feel-good book, if you will.
I was not prepared for how much I would adore Bash and Penny. These two, well, they are wonderful. The chemistry and connection, the humor, the passion, all come together to create a story that had me at the first paragraph. This story, like all of Lili’s, is one that sucked me right in and kept me turning pages until the very end, completely captivating me along the way.
I really love that MB is written from Bash’s point of view. It’s always interesting to me to see how the man views things, especially in a romance, because, let’s face it, we’re like polar opposites when it comes to love so much of the time. Lili nailed it here, writing the unfolding of events completely engagingly, while managing to stay true to a male perspective.
And, Penny. It’s impossible not to love Penny, in all of her madcap perfection. That she’s able to maintain her sense of humor after having a mother like Anastasia, an ex like Phillip, and the childhood that she had, makes her all the more lovable, and strong as heck. She’s just what Bash needs, even though he takes a while to realize it. There really ought to be more Pennys in the world.
Kudos to Lili for this gem of a book, with its lovable kookiness, its wonderful secondary characters (everyone needs a Francis and Eddie in their lives, for real, and, Aidan, yum!), and lots and lots of ice cream. 5+ stars for this one, lady. It’s simply magnificent.
DANCE OF DESIRE by Christopher Rice:
Telling her how he really felt should have been the last option. The absolutely dead-last, nuclear apocalypse option. And touching her? Well, that was beyond the nuclear option. That was a “zombies are breaking down the front door and the only way out is through the nearest window” kind of option.
Amber and Caleb have known forever that their feelings for each other were something special. But just when they were beginning to let each other know, life events changed everything, making anything other than a platonic kind of love unacceptable. True love, though, cannot be denied, and sometimes the heavens smile down on lovers after all.
I was lucky to happen upon one of Christopher’s earlier books in the 1001 Dark Nights series, and really enjoyed it, so when DANCE OF DESIRE came along, I put it right at the top of my TBR list. This little book was a true delight to read. Christopher’s combination of humor, steamy sexiness, and heartfelt emotions, along with great characters and a realistic story line made this one of the most enjoyable, feel-good books I’ve had the opportunity to read lately. The relationship between Amber and her mother had me laughing out loud, and Belinda, Dora, Amanda, and all of the supporting characters are just great. I enjoyed every single bit of this book, and would be happy to see more of these folks in future. 4.5 stars for DANCE OF DESIRE; add this one to your reading list, because you will thoroughly enjoy it.
***ARC generously provided for an honest review.***
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About the 1001 Dark Nights: Bundle Nine Authors-
About Carrie Ann Ryan:
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan never thought she’d be a writer. Not really. No, she loved math and science and even went on to graduate school in chemistry. Yes, she read as a kid and devoured teen fiction and Harry Potter, but it wasn’t until someone handed her a romance book in her late teens that she realized that there was something out there just for her. When another author suggested she use the voices in her head for good and not evil, The Redwood Pack and all her other stories were born.
Carrie Ann is a bestselling author of over twenty novels and novellas and has so much more on her mind (and on her spreadsheets *grins*) that she isn’t planning on giving up her dream anytime soon.
About Heather Graham:
New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham has always been an avid reader, from classics to sci-fi, mystery, horror, thriller, romance, and all kinds of non-fiction. She’s fairly certain that her mom’s deliciously crazy family–arriving in the US a bit before her birth from Ireland–gave her the love of storytelling. She started out in theater and commercials, but once her children began to arrive, she stayed home and gave writing a try. She’s incredibly grateful to be doing what she’s doing for a living. Heather belongs to MWA, RWA, Sisters in Crime, HWA, and ITW, and has the recipient of the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, a Silver Bullet for charitable works, and this year, she will receive the Thriller Master title from ITW. She has over 200 novels in print, and has been published in 22 languages.
About Jennifer Probst:
Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.
She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean.
She is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage Bargain, was ranked #6 on Amazon’s Best Books for 2012, and spent 26 weeks on the New York Times. Her work has been translated in over a dozen countries, sold over a million copies, and was dubbed a “romance phenom” by Kirkus Reviews.
She loves hearing from readers. Visit her website for updates on new releases and her street team on her website.
Sign up for her newsletter for a chance to win a gift card each month and receive exclusive material and giveaways.
About Christopher Rice:
After publishing four New York Times bestselling thrillers by the age of 30 and being declared one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive, award-winning writer Christopher Rice became the first author to make his erotic romance debut part of the 1,001 DARK NIGHTS series. THE FLAME: A Desire Exchange Novella kicked off a steamy new series set in New Orleans, featuring magical candles and a sexy new breed of supernatural beings, The Radiants, who are devoted to helping heroes and heroines realize their heart’s desire. THE FLAME earned accolades from some of the biggest names in erotic romance and was quickly followed up by THE SURRENDER GATE: A Desire Exchange Novel, available from Evil Eye Concepts as a Blue Box Special. Aside from authoring eight works of dark suspense, Christopher is also the co-host and executive producer of THE DINNER PARTY SHOW WITH CHRISTOPHER RICE & ERIC SHAW QUINN, all the episodes of which can be downloaded at TheDinnerPartyShow.com and from iTunes. Make sure you’re subscribed to The Dinner Party Show’s You Tube channel to receive their newest content in 2016.
Photography credit: NANCY ROSE PHOTOGRAPHY
About Melanie Harlow:
USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow likes her heels high, her martini dry, and her history with the naughty bits left in. She’s the author of AFTER WE FALL, MAN CANDY, the HAPPY CRAZY LOVE series (contemporary romance), the FRENCHED series (contemporary romance) and the SPEAK EASY duet (historical romance). She writes from her home outside of Detroit, where she lives with her husband, two daughters, and one insane rabbit.
About Lili Valente:
USA Today bestselling author Lili Valente writes both naughty things and funny things (that are also naughty). She has slept under the stars in Greece, eaten dinner at midnight with French men who couldn’t be trusted to keep their mouths on their food, and walked alone through Munich’s red light district after dark and lived to tell the tale.
These days you can find her writing in a tent beside the sea, drinking coconut water and thinking delightfully dirty thoughts.
Saucy Southern Readers 