Showing posts with label romantic comedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label romantic comedy. Show all posts

Thursday, March 31, 2022

MESSING WITH THE BODYGUARD


Messing With The Bodyguard
: Maid In Miami Book 4

When an ex-Marine takes the job to protect his best friend’s little sister…what will happen when he discovers that he’s the one who’s most vulnerable?


Aubrey:  Yes, I’m on the cautious side, always protective of my friends and myself. So when I start seeing my ex’s car creeping around my neighborhood and office at weird hours, I get a little freaked out. A word to my older brother is all it takes for him to come up with the perfect solution. His lifelong best friend just got out of the Marines and, as a military guard dog trainer, he is skilled at personal protection. The only problem? Elijah Matthews is my absolute all time biggest crush. Now, he and his dog, Thunder, are living in my apartment. And both of them are draped all over my white sofa, begging for kisses, and stealing my attention. After ten years in the military, I’m pretty sure Eli can guard my body. The only question is, who’s going to protect my heart?


Eli: I have no idea what I’m going to do with my life after leaving the military, so when my buddy tells me his little sister might have a stalker, I jump at the chance to be her bodyguard in exchange for a place to crash. But nothing about Aubrey Shepard is like I remember. She’s not the shy, nerdy, skinny kid who always had her face in a book. Now, she’s gorgeous, brilliant, runs her own business, and slays a spreadsheet like the boss she is. After a lifetime of being left behind, I have built some serious walls and swore the only creature I’d ever love is a wimpy pitbull who cries in a storm. But Aubrey is taking those walls down brick by brick and if I’m not careful, she’s going to end up climbing right into my heart and never going away. Could she possibly be the one person who doesn’t leave me?

Messing With The Bodyguard is a laugh-out-loud rom com with a swoony closed-door romance and a heaping dose of sizzling chemistry. There is no cheating and no cliffhangers and this can be read as a standalone.


Maid In Miami Series:


When five best friends graduate from business school, it’s time for these girls to take on the world. As dazzling, eccentric, and spirited as the city where they all grew up, these dynamos head home to Miami with big plans to launch a high-end housekeeping company. Offering a mix of beauty, brains, and business savvy, it doesn’t take long for Maid in Miami to attract the most elite clients in the glamorous city. That means they are now the maids for billionaires, rock stars, athletes, and South Florida’s most charming bachelors. It turns out, a girl can clean, tidy, and make a place sparkle…until a heartthrob sweeps her off her feet. Then, things can get really messy.


Don’t miss Maid In Miami…unforgettable romantic comedies that will have you laughing, swooning, cheering, and mopping up some happy tears.


The Series:

Book 1: Messing With The Billionaire

Book 2: Messing With The Bad Boy

Book 3: Messing With The Bartender

Book 4: Messing With The Bodyguard

Book 5: Messing With The Ballplayer


Release Date: March 25, 2022

Main in Miami Series #4

Romantic Comedy/Sweet Contemporary Romance

Palm Island Publishing

Review copy provided by publisher


Liza’s Review:


I really enjoyed Messing With the Bodyguard. Aubrey has always been to stay more in the background of the friend group, so I was excited for her to get her happily ever after. Her hero being her older brother’s best friend only made this book even more like catnip to me.


Eli and Aubrey were pretty much polar opposites, but that worked for me. Eli has been training dogs while in the Marines, and he even adopted Thunder, the pitbull who couldn’t pass the tests to be a military dog. Thunder was every bit as important a character as any of the friends or Aubrey and Eli. Especially since Aubrey is a complete and total neat freak who would never have a dog when Eli offers to be her bodyguard. Having someone who didn’t have any stray dust in her house suddenly have a shedding dog and her middle school crush living with her had me laughing out loud at times.


I loved that Eli, who had abandonment issues thanks to his horrible parents, finally feels like he can not only trust someone as more than a friend, but fall in love as well. With each day they spend more time together as Eli protects Aubrey from her crazy ex, I fell harder and harder for them as a couple.


Breezie Bennett has an amazing voice and continues to give her readers funny and romantic stories they will love. I loved seeing each of the friends find their happily ever after over the course of this series, and can’t wait to read Messing with the Ballplayer when it is released.


Rating: 4 Stars (B)

Friday, December 03, 2021

CHILD OF MINE (BOSTON CLASSICS #4)


The bigger the secret, the harder it is to hide.


Single mom Isabella York was a celebrity before she had her first kiss, her first date, or her first sip of alcohol. Playing the bad girl—both on and off the set—made up for lost time, but the consequences were life-changing. Back home in Boston, with her “checkered past” behind her, all she wants is to raise her little girl far from the spotlight. After all, revealing her secrets could mean losing everything.


For her, and her daughter.


It’s not that Henry Smith hates kids—they don’t like him. Meanwhile, he’s stuck producing children’s TV, so he’s doing the best he can to be less of a grouch. Not everyone gets a second chance to chase his dream, and if he plays his cards right at this new gig, he can move on to making television that will change the world, not just entertain a bunch of brats.


Even better, he just might be able to talk the woman he never thought he’d see again into greenlighting a do-over.


In this sexy, heartwarming, Secret Baby, 80’s throwback romcom, a Sunshine-Grumpy pair has to face the past before they can find their future… together.


Release Date: December 1, 2021

Home Cooked Books

Boston Classics #4

Nostalgia Romance

Review copy provided by publisher


Liza's Review:


Child of Mine is one of the books I've been waiting for since the very first book in the Boston Classics series. Single mom Bella is such a strong character, and I love how much she loves her daughter and keeps her needs front and center at all times. I always wondered about Lilah's father, and we finally get all the answers in Child of Mine. I really feel like each of the books in the series build upon each other, so readers will understand the character dynamics a bit better if they have read all the books in the series. However, you can read Child of Mine as a stand-alone story as well.


I've enjoyed each of the books in the Boston Classics series, and Child of Mine was another winner. I felt like much like in You Spin Me, there were parts of their history that were darker than in other books in the series, but I think that is one of the reasons I've adored the last 2 books in the series so much. I There is so much growth in the characters in the 7 years they have been apart. They also had to really work to figure out the new dynamics of their relationship. I loved that Henry and Bella's chemistry was every bit is strong 7 years later. 


I loved once again revisiting the 80's, as I grew up in the 70's, and 80's the "historical" mentions of passing notes, cell phones not being the norm, and tv shows you had to watch when originally aired, or you never got to see them again were all part of my childhood and high school years. Honestly each mention brought back lots of happy memories.


Karen Grey did an amazing job with the secret baby/second chance romance in Child of Mine. Both troupes can be hit of miss, but Ms. Grey took the ball and ran with it and gave her readers a funny, sexy, and endearing story. I’ve actually listened the audiobooks for each of the other books in this series, and can’t wait to re-read Child of Mine once the audiobook is released. 



Rating: 5 Stars (A)


Buy Links:

https://books2read.com/COMKGrey 


Meet Karen Grey:

The first three books in Karen Grey’s 1980’s era Boston Classics romance series released in 2020: What I’m Looking ForForget About Me and Like It’s 1999You Spin Me released in 2021, to be followed by novel #4 in the series later this year. The audiobook of What I’m Looking For won an AudioFile Magazine Earphones award and was a finalist in the Independent Audiobook Awards, 2020. She’s also had essays published in Salt Magazine and the Nevertheless We Persistedcollections (one an Audies Finalist and the other a SOVAs finalist), and a short story in the collection Vintage Love Stories. Her first romance novel was a winner of the NJ Romance Writers’ Put Your Heart in a Book contest and Hearts Through History’s Romance Through the Ages contest in the Modern History category.


Connect with Karen Grey:

https://karenwhiteaudiobooks.com/writing/ 


Wednesday, December 01, 2021

CHILD OF MINE RELEASE BLITZ

 

 Release Date: December 1

“A romcom set in BOSTON in the 80s?? Yes please!” NYT bestselling author Erin Nicholas

The bigger the secret, the harder it is to hide.

Single mom Isabella York was a celebrity before she had her first kiss, her first date, or her first sip of alcohol. Playing the bad girl—both on and off the set—allowed her to make up for lost time. Back home in Boston, with her “checkered past” behind her, all she wants is to raise her little girl far away from the spotlight, because revealing her secrets could mean losing everything, or gaining more than she ever hoped.

For her, and her daughter.

It’s not that Henry Smith hates kids—they don’t like him. Meanwhile, he’s stuck producing children’s TV, so he’ll try to tone down the grumpiness that’s dogged him since his life imploded seven years ago. After all, not everyone gets a second chance to chase his dream. If he plays his cards right at this new gig, he can move on to making television that will change the world, not just entertain a bunch of brats.

Maybe he can charm the woman he never thought he’d see again into a do-over while he’s at it.

In this sexy, heartwarming, not-quite-historical romance—the latest Boston Classics standalone romcom—a sunshine/grumpy pair has to face the past to before they can find a future… together.

Grab Your Copy Here!


Meet Karen Grey


The first three books in Karen Grey’s 1980’s era Boston Classics romance series released in 2020: What I’m Looking ForForget About Me and Like It’s 1999You Spin Me released in 2021, to be followed by novel #4 in the series later this year. 

The audiobook of What I’m Looking For won an AudioFile Magazine Earphones award and was a finalist in the Independent Audiobook Awards, 2020. She’s also had essays published in Salt Magazine and the Nevertheless We Persistedcollections (one an Audies Finalist and the other a SOVAs finalist), and a short story in the collection Vintage Love Stories. 


Her first romance novel was a winner of the NJ Romance Writers’ Put Your Heart in a Book contest and Hearts Through History’s Romance Through the Ages contest in the Modern History category.


To learn more about Karen Grey, visit here!


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Friday, October 29, 2021

MEET ME IN MADRID BLOG TOUR


Meet Me in Madrid
by Verity Lowell is available in trade paperback and eBook on October 26
th!


In this sexy, sophisticated romantic comedy, two women juggle romance and career across continents.


Charlotte Hilaire has a love-hate relationship with her work as a museum courier. On the one hand, it takes her around the world. On the other, her plan to become a professor is veering dangerously off track.


Yet once in a while, maybe every third trip or so, the job goes delightfully sideways…


When a blizzard strands Charlotte in Spain for a few extra days and she’s left with glorious free time on her hands, the only question is: Dare she invite her grad school crush for an after-dinner drink on a snowy night?


Accomplished, take-no-prisoners art historian Adrianna Coates has built an enviable career since Charlotte saw her last. She’s brilliant. Sophisticated. Impressive as hell and strikingly beautiful.


Hospitable, too, as she absolutely insists Charlotte spend the night on her pullout sofa as the storm rages on.


One night becomes three and three nights become a hot and adventurous long-distance relationship when Charlotte returns to the States. But when Adrianna plots her next career move just as Charlotte finally opens a door in academia, distance may not be the only thing that keeps them apart.


Add Meet Me in Madrid to your Goodreads!


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Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories featuring beloved romance tropes, where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters. 


Discover a new Carina Adores book every month!

  • The Life Revamp by Kris Ripper (coming November 30)
  • If You Love Something by Jayce Ellis (coming December 28)
  • D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins (coming January 25)
  • Sink or Swim by Annabeth Albert (coming February 22)
  • Going Public by Hudson Lin (coming March 29)


Buy Meet Me in Madrid by Verity Lowell

https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9781335631008_meet-me-in-madrid.html


About Verity Lowell

Verity Lowell is a professor and occasional curator who writes queer of color romance. She likes imagining and describing a world where art, ambition, and history provide the background for diverse and steamy love stories, mostly about women falling hard for women. She and her partner and their cats live in New England and sometimes elsewhere.


Find Verity Lowell Online

Website: https://www.veritylowell.com/ 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21135117.Verity_Lowell 



Read on for an excerpt from Meet Me in Madrid


The car arrived with the luggage while they were still flirting and deliberating in the kitchen, the cava as yet unpoured. Hearing the buzzer, Adrianna had reluctantly thrown on a robe and slippers and run down the three flights, leaving Charlotte still leaning on the counter to contemplate what came next.

“I’m putting your very nice suitcase in my room,” a breathless Adrianna said as soon as she closed the apartment door behind her. “It won’t fit in the study.”

It would have fit in the study. But it fit a lot better in the bedroom.

“I’m out here,” Charlotte informed her. She had taken the bottle and glasses and resituated herself on the living room sofa. If it had been in the States, the long, upholstered couch with its plethora of throw pillows would have sat smack-dab in front of a flat-screen TV. This one, by refreshing contrast, faced a wall of tall, arched casement windows looking onto mostly sky and a distant cityscape punctuated by the city’s numerous church towers. Today the potted trees and summer furniture on the neighboring balconies were coated with an inch or two of velvety snow.

What sun there had been was already dimming.

Adrianna was surprised, but certainly not disappointed, to find Charlotte curled up at one end of said sofa, glass in hand, taking it all in just as she herself liked to do at sunset.

“It’s beautiful,” Charlotte said. “Doesn’t look like any place else I’ve been.”

“Sure doesn’t.” Adrianna sat down close beside Charlotte. Encouragingly close, she hoped.

Charlotte filled Adrianna’s flute with pale bubbly and raised hers in a wordless toast. Their glasses clinked.

“What are we drinking to?” Adrianna asked.

“Bank closures and oversold hotels?” Charlotte replied with a laugh and a gulp. Her legs were folded under her and as she went to set down her glass, she slipped into Adrianna’s shoulder, not seeming to mind at all when Adrianna leaned into her and caught her eye.

“If you’d have looked at me like that in school, I’m not sure what I would have done,” Charlotte said.

“I can’t promise I never did,” Adrianna admitted. “Especially there at the end.”

“You were definitely shopping around at one point, as I recall. Like a freshman for new classes,” Charlotte said. “Least that’s what it looked like from where I stood.”

“I was a train wreck,” Adrianna said solemnly. “My ex cheated on me with someone I cared about and I was worried to death I wouldn’t get a job—and interviewing cross-country practically every week while I finished the last chapter of my diss. Those days seem incomparably easy, yet completely impossible when I look back. But I fucked things up with a lot of people and I hate thinking about it.”

“Your heart was broken,” Charlotte said, reaching for the cava. She’d stopped looking at Adrianna but her voice conveyed empathy.

Had someone broken Charlotte’s heart? Adrianna wanted badly to know.

“And I did that to others in return,” she said.

“You are indeed a heartbreaker,” Charlotte laughed.

“You’re one to talk,” Adrianna replied. “I can’t believe you weren’t dating your pretty little ass off—or seeing faculty on the sly at least. I don’t think I do believe it.”

“Well, you can believe it or not. I’m not saying I didn’t sleep around some. But grads and faculty were off-limits. Not out of moral approbation. I just knew it would throw me off my game. I don’t mind telling you I had tempting offers from both parties.”

Good thing Adrianna wasn’t one of those former suitors. It was so much better finding her again like this, now that they were both past the stage of perpetual heightened insecurity. Now that there was no history with Charlotte, only possibility.

Neither of them were drunk, just usefully relaxed, their inhibitions disarmed by the alcohol, their focus sharpened by the caffeine.

Adrianna set down her own near-empty glass and turned toward Charlotte.

“Let’s toast to layovers instead.”

“With what?”

“Come here,” Adrianna said, just to see how Charlotte reacted to being told what to do.

“Make me,” she replied, finishing what was left in her flute and starting to rise.

“Where are you going now?”

“I’m thirsty. Think I’ll get a glass of water…”

“Fuck the water,” Adrianna said. She pulled Charlotte back down to her for a deep, wet kiss that burned deliciously from the sparkling wine in her mouth and on their lips. Charlotte responded with a kind of unrestraint, immediately taking the lead. God did she. Adrianna suddenly seemed to feel her touch everywhere.

It was one of those moments when you don’t realize how much you want something—someone—until she’s within reach. She wasn’t going to lose her second chance.


Friday, September 10, 2021

COVER RE-REVEAL THE MISFIT BRIDES SERIES

 



Series: The Misfit Brides Series
Author: Pippa Grant
writing as Jamie Farrell
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Cover Design: Najla Qamber



BLISSED

Welcome To Bliss, the Bridal Capital of the Midwest!

Single mom Natalie Castellano isn’t feeling so blissful these days...
Natalie’s made a career out of screwing up all over her hometown. But it’s redemption time, and she’s putting on her big girl panties to make sure this year’s bridal festival goes off without a hitch. Even if it means she has to play nice with the man who broke her fairy tale.

She’s definitely not the one for him. Or is she...
World adventurer and reluctant local hero CJ Blue doesn’t want to be in Bliss anymore than Natalie wants him here. But family obligations have brought him back, and now, and now he’s somehow been roped into saving the town tradition he’d rather forget with the woman whose kiss he can’t forget. She frustrates him and drives him nuts but he's had more fun giving her a hard time about the bridal festival than he has in years.

And their fun is just starting...
Despite their rocky past, these two wounded souls have more in common than they expect. They’ve both loved and lost, they’ve both tried to move on, and now they’ve both been been banned from the local church confessional after...well, they’re not supposed to talk about it. But by joining forces for the sake of Bliss, they might find the courage and the sparks to risk love one more time.




PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Only available at the following
retailers for a limited time


ALSO AVAILABLE




MATCHED

A country music heartthrob and his long-lost love walk into a wedding...

Will Truitt grew up living the saddest kind of country song. Now, though, as superstar Billy Brenton, his life is perfect. Or so people think. But he hasn't been able to write a decent song in months. Crashing a wedding in a quirky little bridal-obsessed town is supposed to provide inspiration to get his career back on track. Instead, all he finds are regrets when he comes face-to-face with the woman who got away, taking his crushed heart with her.

Lindsey Castellano gave up on love a long time ago. As a cutthroat divorce attorney on the outskirts of a town devoted to brides, weddings, and happily ever after, she's honed her skills at avoiding love, commitment, and inevitable heartbreak. Or so she thought until Will Truitt reappears in her life.

When Lindsey shattered Will's heart fifteen years ago, she'd been a sorority girl on her way to the top. He'd been a lowly janitor with a dream. Now he's on top of the world, and she's the last person he should need or want.

But she's the only person who has ever inspired his music. And he's the only man she's never been able to forget. Have the years made them wiser, stronger, and better able to love, or this time, will they simply crash and burn harder?




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SMITTENED

A Bad Boy, a Good Girl, and Ice Cream!

Dahlia Mallard has finally found her destiny—running an ice cream shop in Bliss, the happiest bridal town in the Midwest. Problem is, her heart is bigger than her bank account. After spending her last dime on a less-than-worthy cause, she needs a serious influx of cash to get through the winter. Her last-ditch effort? Convincing country music superstar Billy Brenton to attend the risqué flavor-tasting event she’s planned to boost sales. But the closest she can get to Billy is his drummer, the womanizing Mikey Diamond.

Mikey loves the ladies, and he makes no secret of it. But he’s not such a fan of this town devoted to weddings, love, and marriage. And he’s even less of a fan of people using him to get to Billy. When circumstances land Mikey in Dahlia’s house as her new roommate, though, all his caution—and all his interest in any other single ladies—flies out the window. Dahlia’s quirky and funny and, unlike his usual women, she doesn’t tolerate any of his baloney. But when Mikey discovers that Dahlia, too, is using him to get close to Billy, will he take the chance to be her hero instead, or will he revert to his manwhore ways?




PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

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SUGARED

When Chicago’s Hottest Snack Cake Heir…
Josh Kincaid went from rags to riches when he was adopted by the family who owns the Sweet Dreams Snack Cakes empire. But now the company is floundering, and Josh will do anything to save his parents the way they saved him. Including using his charm on a small-town wedding cake baker.

Takes on the Misfit Princess of the Bridal Capital of the Midwest…
Kimmie is flighty, she spouts off weird dreams when she’s nervous, and her frizzy hair and fashion sense make her the girl least likely to snare a debonair snack cake heir. But Kimmie can bake a cake that’ll make a grown man cry, and that’s exactly what Josh needs to turn his parents’ business around.

They Just Might Find The Recipe for Love
Josh’s plan should be easy, except Kimmie isn’t all cupcake underneath. Her help comes with a price. If Josh wants to save his family’s company, he’ll have to do something he’s never done: be himself.

Cupcakes have never been so terrifying.




PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Only available at the following
retailers for a limited time


ALSO AVAILABLE




MERRIED

He’s the Spare Heir of Bliss’s most famous jewelry shop
Max Gregory’s family is best known for creating and displaying the world’s most cursed diamond ring, but here in the bridal capital of the world, Max is best known for having a cursed love life. Not that he believes in curses. Or he didn’t, until he met Merry.

She’s the daughter of a notorious jewel thief
Merry Silver's parents have wreaked havoc on her life. After her last romantic disaster—thanks, Daddy—she’s fleeing the country for a chance at normal. But first, she has to avoid her favorite ex-boyfriend while she gets her mom married off. Again.

And they’re about to get a second chance at love

Max was horrified when he discovered why Merry disappeared last year. Now she's back in Bliss for a wedding, and her father may be after his family’s most prized possession. But is it the diamond Max is worried about? Or is he afraid of losing the only woman who’s ever made him want to settle down?

Either way...the family jewels are in danger.




PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

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SPICED

Dueling neighbors, baby fever, fake boyfriends, and pizza... Life in Bliss has never been better!

Pepper Blue wants a baby. Forget the husband. She’s better at training men to be good husbands for other women than she is at getting one herself, so she’s doing this on her own.

But she hasn’t exactly shared the news with her family, and they’re determined to find her a date to the next family wedding. A date that won’t ditch her for one of her sisters or cousins. This time.

Which means Pepper Blue needs a fake boyfriend. A fake boyfriend that she has no chance of actually falling in love with. A fake boyfriend like her obnoxious neighbor.

Tony Cross is a pizza god with a sausage problem. He’s putting on a good show—a different woman at his house every night, flirting with all the right customers, flexing his muscles when called upon—but since his divorce, his meat has been more on the undercooked side. If you know what he means.

Except, unfortunately, when it comes to his annoyingly perfect, always put together, too good for him neighbor. Pepper Blue. Who is not a viable candidate for fixing his “little problem.”

So he’s not sure why he’s coming to her rescue, pretending to be her boyfriend to save her from a bad date at his pizza joint. He just knows it’s fun. And it irritates her. And it turns out, she might be able to help his flagging pizza sales as much as she’s helping his flagging… you know.

So long as this is just business, he’s happy to keep pushing her buttons.

All night long, if he has to.




PURCHASE LINKS

99c for a limited time!

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retailers for a limited time





UNHITCHED

What happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas!

Tarra Blue found out the hard way that her Vegas annulment didn’t take, and now she’s hunting down her accidental husband to finish what they started ten years ago.

Ben Garcia left the corporate world behind when his business partner dropped dead of a heart attack, and he’s doing his best to embrace life as a beach bum. But running an umbrella stand isn’t quite enough. And he doesn’t know what he’s missing.

Until Tarra walks back into his life.

Suddenly, the wife he once didn’t want is everything he never wants to give up. But she comes with complications. BIG complications.

They’re already entangled.

Is she worth the fight?




PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Only available at the following
retailers for a limited time








AUTHOR BIO

Pippa Grant is a USA Today Bestselling author who writes romantic comedies that will make tears run down your leg. When she's not reading, writing or sleeping, she's being crowned employee of the month as a stay-at-home mom and housewife trying to prepare her adorable demon spawn to be productive members of society, all the while fantasizing about long walks on the beach with hot chocolate chip cookies.


AUTHOR LINKS