Week of October 16, 2017
Music . . . the heartโs greatest librarian.
The average song is three and a half minutes long; those three and a half minutes could lead to a slow blink, a glimpse of the past, or catapult the soul into heart-shattering nostalgia.
At the height of my career, I had the life I wanted, the life Iโd always envisioned. Iโd found my tempo, my rhythm. Then I received a phone call that left me off key.
You see, my favorite songs had a way of playing simultaneously. I was in love with one manโs beats and anotherโs lyrics. But when it came to the soundtrack of a life, how could anyone choose a favorite song? So, to erase any doubt, I ditched my first-class ticket and decided to take a drive, fixed on the rearview.
Two days.
One playlist.
And the long road home to the man who was waiting for me.
True love. An old enemy. It begins where it ends.
Two months ago, I didnโt believe in magic.
Sure, Iโd cast a love spell involving glitter and peppercorns, but come on โฆ even I didnโt think some pink pepper could make a man fall in love with me.
How quickly Iโve changed.
Seeing is believing, and watching Andrew light a fire with only his hands definitely changed my mind.
My former crush, the brooding, beautiful Andrew Wildes, is now my boyfriend.
And a witch. A real one.
The question is, am I?
Enchanted is a continuation of the Bewitched story. It should be read after Bewitched and Spellbound.
A broken woman . . .
Crystal learned long ago that love brings only pain. Feeling nothing at all is far better than being hurt again. She guards her wounded heart behind a hard exterior and carries within her a deep mistrust of men, who, in her experience, have only ever used and taken.
A man in need of help . . .
Then Gabriel Dalton walks into her life. Despite the terrible darkness of his past, there’s an undeniable goodness in him. And even though she knows the cost, Crystal finds herself drawn to Gabriel. His quiet strength is wearing down her defenses and his gentle patience is causing her to question everything she thought she knew.
Only love can mend a shattered heart . . .
Crystal and Gabriel never imagined that the world, which had stolen everything from them, would bring them a deep love like this. Except fate will only take them so far, and now the choice is theirs: Harden their hearts once again or find the courage to shed their painful pasts.
Looks can be deceiving.
I knew that most people took one look at the ink and the impossibly big and strong body it covered and decided I was a brawlerโฆa bruiserโฆa beast. However, I was hardwired to be a thinker, not a fighter.
I should have chosen to use my brain and talents to be one of the good guys, a hero, a man with dignity and worth.
I turned my back on dignity and sold my soul to the highest bidder, deciding to dance with the devil, instead.
I couldnโt figure out how to help myself, so there was zero chance I knew how to save someone else.
That someone else was Noe Lee. She was the unkempt, unruly thief who was just as smart as I was and twice as street savvy. She was annoyingly adorable beneath the dirt and grime, and she was in trouble. In way over her head, I told myself it wasnโt my job to keep her from drowning. In the Point, it was sink or swim, and I wasnโt the designated lifeguard on duty.
I shut the door in her face, but now sheโs goneโฆvanishedโฆdisappeared without a trace. It took less than a second for me to realize that I wanted her back.
When a woman comes along that melts all the frozen, hard things youโre made of; youโll do anything you have to, to bring her home.
What you see is not always what you getโฆand with a man like me, what you get is more than anyone ever bargained for.
Charmed, Texas, is a close-knit small town where peopleโs dreams of love can come true. Thatโs not to say that some people arenโt still waiting, and dreaming . . .
ย
By day, Allie Greene stays busy with her family diner, and keeping tabs on her teenage daughter. Whatโs really exhausting Allie, however, are the nights. Not that she minds Bash Anderson unbuttoning her naughty desiresโif only in her dreams. But what was he doing there at all? Heโs her best friend, and a father figure to her girl. Talk about awkward. Talk about OMG-heat-and-fireworks that are flipping fifteen years of normal upside down. And now, when Allie needs him as a friend more than ever, logic doesnโt stand a chance against his lips and irresistible deep-blue eyes . . .
Sure, Bash has fantasized about Allie, but thereโs no way heโd act on it. She and her daughter are the closest thing to family heโs ever known. With the exception of one drunken moment fifteen years ago, he and Allie have stayed on this side of the lineโuntil that impulsive kiss of hers knocked him on his butt. Thatโs just one hurdle. Not only does Allie need Bashโs help to save her diner, but his apiary is in trouble, too. To stir the pot further, theyโve been roped into vying for the townโs Honey King and Queen contestโa sweet event thatโs making them closer than ever. Somethingโs bound to come undone. Bash just hopes itโs not the friendship heโs worked so hard to hold on to.
An Overnight Billionaireโฆ
When Carson Frost inherits a confectionary that rakes in billions but is too cash-strapped to last another sixty days, he agrees to take a loan from his late fatherโs rival. There are two catches: Carson has to sign over a permanent stake in the company and marry the manโs daughter.
Concocts a Fake Brideโฆ
Two weeks before the wedding, he gets cold feet and claims heโs in love with someone else. The investor says heโll still hand over the cash if Carson takes a stroll down the aisleโwith the woman who owns his heart. Since he isnโt even dating anyone, Carson panics. Where is he going to find a bride willing to jilt him at the altar on such short notice?
And Whips Up a Little Love.
Ella Hope is an actress happy for any paying gig, but jilting a hottie in public isnโt what she had in mind. Still, she needs rent, and heโs in a bind. How hard can it be? While playing at matrimony, suddenly their intimacy isnโt so fake. Ella canโt help but fantasize that Carson is her groom and they will live happily ever after. But once his company is safe, will he want her anymore?
The marriage is fake. But for a sassy chef and an arrogant billionaire, the sparks are realโฆ
Jackson โThe Beastโ Boudreaux is rich, gorgeous, and unbelievably rude to the staff at Chef Bianca Hardwickโs New Orleans restaurant. Bianca would sooner douse herself in hot sauce than cook for Jackson again, but when he asks her to cater his fund-raiser, Bianca canโt refuse, knowing the cash will help pay her motherโs medical bills. Then Jackson makes another outrageous request:ย Marry me.ย The unconventional offer includes an enormous sumโmoney Bianca desperately needs, even if it does come with a contractโand a stunning ring.
The heir to a family bourbon dynasty, Jackson knows the rumors swirling around him. The truth is even darker. Still, he needs a wife to secure his inheritance, and free-spirited, sassy Bianca would play the part beautifully. Soon, though, their simple business deal evolves into an emotional intimacy heโs built walls to avoid.
As the passion heats up between them, Bianca and Jackson struggle to define which feelings are real and which are for show. Is falling for your fake fiancรฉ the best happy endingโฆor a recipe for disaster?
New Orleans belongs to me.
You donโt know my name, but I control everything you seeโand all the things you donโt.
My reach knows no bounds, and my demands are always met.
I didnโt need to loan money to a failing family distillery, but it amuses me to have them in my debt.
To have her in my debt.
She doesnโt know she caught my attention.
She shouldโve been more careful.
Iโm going to own her. Consume her. Maybe even keep her.
Itโs time to collect what Iโm owed.
Keira Kilgore, youโre now the property of Lachlan Mount.
A real-life thriller in the vein ofย The Devil in the White City, Kate Winkler Dawson’s debutย Death in the Airย is a gripping, historical narrative of a serial killer, an environmental disaster, and an iconic city struggling to regain its footing.ย
In winter 1952, London automobiles and thousands of coal-burning hearths belched particulate matter into the air. But the smog that descended on December 5th of 1952 was different; it was a type that held the city hostage for five long days. Mass transit ground to a halt, criminals roamed the streets, and 12,000 people died. That same month, there was another killer at large in London: John Reginald Christie, who murdered at least six women. In a braided narrative that draws on extensive interviews, never-before-published material, and archival research, Dawson captivatingly recounts the intersecting stories of the these two killers and their longstanding impact on modern history.
Dawn has come, a time for heroes to rise.
Draco has lived long and felt the pain of loss more than anyone in one lifetime could imagine. Immortality was given to him as a gift, a gift that failed him and turned him into a shell of the man that has nothing left but to wait out the end of existence alone.
Until her.
Rose is an empath who sees more than who Draco is supposed to be: she sees him, and what they could be.
Together, they will begin the search for others with extraordinary powers, to stop a war thatโs been brewing for over a millennia.
The journey is only beginning, and an unnamed enemy has started to make his mark on their world.
The dawn of heroes has finally arrived.
Only time will tell if itโs too late to defeat the upcoming darkness of night that now descends upon all of mankind.
The line between best friend and something more is a line always crossed in the dark.
Jess Wong is Angie Redmondโs best friend. And thatโs the most important thing, even if Angie canโt see how Jess truly feels. Being the girl no one quite notices is OK with Jess anyway. If nobody notices her, sheโs free to watch everyone else. But when Angie begins to fall for Margot Adams, a girl from the nearby boarding school, Jess can see it coming a mile away. Suddenly her powers of observation are more a curse than a gift.
As Angie drags Jess further into Margotโs circle, Jess discovers more than her friendโs growing crush. Secrets and cruelty lie just beneath the carefree surface of this world of wealth and privilege, and when they come out, Jess knows Angie wonโt be able to handle the consequences.
When the inevitable darkness finally descends, Angie will need her best friend.
โIt doesnโt even matter that she probably doesnโt understand how much she means to me. Itโs purer this way. She can take whatever she wants from me, whenever she wants it, because Iโm her best friend.โ
A Line in the Darkย is a story of love, loyalty, and murder.
Five years ago an unthinkable tragedy slashed Cait Londonโs life into two parts: before she had amnesia and after.
Determined to keep her past hidden and start over, she moves to Chicago and plunges into a new jobโall while keeping a walled distance from everyone she meets. But itโs not long before Cait reconsiders her solitary existence, and soon sheโs stepping beyond her boundaries and taking unthinkable chances, like crushing on her impossibly sexy landlord, Evan Wade. Heโs flirty, annoying, and with him living in the same apartment building, she canโt stop thinking about him. If she can sleep with him once, perhaps she can get him out of her system. The problem is, Evan seems bulletproof to her advances. As the two develop a connection, it becomes clear Cait may not succeed before her heart remembers what it feels like to love.
Ten Thousand Points of Light is an immersive contemporary romance about the intensity of first loves, the heartache of loss, and the power of forgiveness.
Lost, shattered, and confused, Beulah finds a friend where she least expects one. What she thought she knew, she didnโt. What she thought she understood, she didnโt. And what she is about to find out will change her. When your fate claims you there is no running from it.
No last names. No life stories. Those were the rules.
Once upon a time a cocky, copper-haired tourist sauntered into Zaraโs bar. And even though she knew better, Zara indulged in a cure for the small-town blues. It was supposed to be an uncomplicated flingโa few sizzling weeks before he went back to his life, and she moved on.
Until an accidental pregnancy changed her life.
Two years later, sheโs made peace with the notion that Dave From Brooklyn will never be found. Until one summer day when he walks into her coffee shop, leveling her with the same hot smile that always renders her defenseless.
Hockey star Dave Beringer has never forgotten the intense month he spent with prickly Zara. Their nights together were the first true intimacy heโd ever experienced. But the discovery of his child is the shock of a lifetime, and his ugly past puts relationships and family out of reach.
Or does it? Vermontโs countryside has a way of nurturing even tortured souls. The fields and the orchardsโand hard won loveโare Bountiful.
The Fellowship saga continues with Kieran and Westlyn’s story in this standalone spinoff of The Sin Trilogy.
Captor becomes loverโฆ
Iโm a marksman. Mobster. Deadly assassin.
My job is to protect my brotherhood, but that isnโt my only responsibility.
Iโm Kieran Hendry, the up-and-coming leader of The Order, and a new duty calls. I must take a wife.
A wife I donโt know.
A wife born into a position at the top of The Fellowship hierarchy.
A wife who will forge a strong alliance between her brotherhood and mine.
A wife I donโt want.
I knew next to nothing about Westlyn Breckenridge when I abducted her, but I quickly discover that sheโs intelligent, strong, defiant, selfless. And beautiful.
One night with her is all it takes for me to see that she is no typical Mafia princess. Iโm hopeful this arranged marriage wonโt be the miserable union I imagined it to be. But convincing my intended to give us a chance wonโt be easy when she sees me as the enemy. The brute who kidnapped her. The vile fiend who threatened to do as he wished with her body.
Itโs true. I am all those things. I had cruel intentions. But everything has changed. My affection for her is unexpected. My love, unintended.
= Read My Review
= Highly Recommended
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