Spotlight: Conner's Contrary Bride by Barbara Goss

Beauty of love is that you can fall into it with the most unexpected person at the most unexpected time.

Dr. Connor Beauregard Van Gates the IV, of Hays City, Kansas, and Elsie Crenshaw of Gobbler's Knob, West Virginia, use a successful matchmaker to bring them together by using questionnaires to sort out their likes and dislikes. However, a catastrophe occurs and things get very mixed up.

The couple has so many differences that Connor is caught rolling his eyes often. What has he done?

Will it take a band of heartless bank robbers and a lecherous step-father to finally bring them together?

Excerpt

Prologue

Spring 1870

Agatha sighed and stretched her shoulders which were stiff after bending over the papers on her desk for hours. She rubbed her neck, sighed, and smiled at her cat, Cleo, who sat on the desk’s edge, watching her.

“We did it, Cleo. This month’s matches are complete.” She scratched Cleo’s head. “Now, I’ll have a few days to rest before the next batch arrives.”

“Grandmother!”

“Yes, Maggie?” Agatha replied loudly.

“I can’t find my Sunday shoes.”

Agatha got slowly up from her chair, rubbed her back, and called, “I’ll be right up.” She looked at Cleo. “Oh, dear! It’s past your dinner time.” She stroked the cat’s back and said, “I’ll be right back as soon as I find Maggie’s shoes.”

As well as running regular newspaper ads to bring clients to her successful matchmaking business, she raised her deceased daughter’s child, Margaret, for the past six years. Maggie was now eighteen, and Agatha hoped to teach her the matchmaking business eventually, so she could retire. Her body ached for that to happen.

After climbing the stairs painfully, she entered Maggie’s room and found the shoes under the bed.

“Did you even look there?” Agatha asked.

“I thought I had.” Maggie shrugged. She embraced her grandmother. “Thank you.”

Agatha rubbed Maggie’s back lovingly. “You might consider my age and look more carefully next time. Those stairs get steeper by the day.”

Maggie nodded contritely.

“Come down and set the table. I can tell by the aroma that the roast is done.”

Agatha descended the stairs carefully and returned to the den. She stopped short, her eyes barely focusing on the scene before her as her papers flew from one end of the room to the other. She grabbed her head with both hands and gasped.

The cat had spread the matches throughout the room. Cleo rolled over the papers, pouncing on them playfully while scattering them in obvious delight with her tail.

“Cleo!” She gasped before closing her eyes and falling backward. She would have fallen to the floor had her granddaughter not caught her.

“Oh, my!” was all Maggie could mutter.

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About the Author

Barbara Goss lives in Western New York and to date has written 48 Christian and/or Sweet Romance books, mostly westerns. She enjoys crossword puzzles, penny slots, reading, swimming, and her two cats, but not necessarily in that order. She tries to write exciting stories with a bit of God's word spread within, without dominating the story.

Connect:

My website: http://www.barbaragossbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraGossBooks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Barbee44

Audible Hearts: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1853693444745928/

Audiobook Lovers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/audiobooklovers/

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Cover Reveal: So Wrong It's Wright by Amelia Kingston

Author: Amelia Kingston 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: November 10, 2020 

An Infuriatingly Irresistible Love Story

Michelle Anders is done with love. Done with the involuntary heart palpitations and suffocating in breathless moments. Done crying over a man who doesn’t deserve her. She is determined to become a strong, independent woman, starting with focusing on what really matters. Herself. 

The solitary week of relaxation she planned at a friend’s remote lake house turns unbearable when the man who broke her heart stumbles in on her. While she’s stark naked in the bathtub. With his pants around his ankles!

Drew Wright may be the NFL’s newest darling, but to Michelle the jock is nothing but a loud-mouthed, crass, country-boy brute. He doesn’t deserve a second of her time…but the things he can do to her body are irresistible. 

When mother nature conspires to keep them locked up together, Michelle needs to figure out where lust ends and love begins.

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Exclusive Excerpt:

“Fuck me,” I murmur. 

At the sound of my desperate, breathy voice, Drew turns and I about faint. I’ve never seen anything so sexy. I drink him in, long eyelashes to thick calves. His shaggy brown hair hangs over his gentle eyes, making him look adorably nefarious. He slings an axe over his shoulder and his abs wripple in the firelight. The chiseled V dipping into his boxers draws my attention down to the impressive bulge that has my mouth watering. He is powerful and dangerous. The wild mountain man is my new favorite fantasy. 

Our eyes lock and I swear every muscle in my body goes limp. That’s the only explanation for my mouth dropping open and my wine glass slipping out of my hand. It shatters into a thousand pieces on the tile floor, the wine splashing on my feet snaps me out of my stupor. 

I stare down at the shards, but lack any ability to process the sight. Drew is around the couch in a blink, stepping up beside me close enough I can smell his woodsy scent. 

“Hope that wasn’t expensive,” he snips and I remember I hate the sexy brute. 

Needing space to breath, I shove him away. Hard. “It’s your fault. You scared the shit out of me.”

“What did I do?” 

I gesture to his naked body and the axe he left back by the fireplace. “I thought I was going to be murdered in my sleep! What the hell are you doing?”

“Making a fire,” he replies flatly, like I’m the crazy one. Like naked lumberjacking is a thing. Holy crap, I wish it was a thing.

About Amelia Kingston

Amelia Kingston is many things, the most interesting of which are probably California girl, writer, traveler, and dog mom. She survives on chocolate, coffee, wine, and sarcasm. Not necessarily in that order.  

She’s been blessed with a patient husband who’s embraced her nomad ways and traveled with her to over 30 countries across 5 continents (I’m coming for you next, Antarctica!). She’s also been cursed with an impatient (although admittedly adorable) terrier who pouts when her dinner is 5 minutes late. 

She writes about strong, stubborn, flawed women and the men who can't help but love them. Her irreverent books aim to be silly and fun with the occasional storm cloud to remind us to appreciate the sunny days. As a hopeless romantic, her favorite stories are the ones that remind us all that while love is rarely perfect, it’s always worth chasing. 

Connect with Amelia: Newsletter | Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Spotlight: Unwritten by Alex Rosa

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: September 15, 2020

Hailey Elwood always knew three things: she wanted to be a writer, she didn’t want to run her family diner, and she was madly and unconditionally in love with Caiden Anderson. When Hailey came to the conclusion that her family would never understand her dream to write, she decided to take her future into her own hands, but what she didn’t expect was Caiden’s ultimatum. Falling in love with Caiden was easy. Saying goodbye to him was not .Five years later, Hailey’s debut novel becomes an international bestseller, skyrocketing her to fame, but when her mother passes away, she’s forced to return to her hometown to confront the memories and the man that shaped her first book. She’ll argue it’s fiction, but Caiden knows better .Hailey wasn’t the only one who was left battered and bruised, and Caiden makes it a point to make her accountable chapter by chapter.Now with her publisher suddenly pushing her for a sequel, she isn’t sure how to write it when her future is still unwritten.

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About the Author

Alex Rosa lives in Los Angeles, California. By day she’s a Digital Marketing Manager and by night a writer of swoon-worthy books. With nearly ten years of writing experience, she has published five novels, including the Tryst Series with Intermix, Penguin Random House’s digital imprint.

She finds her home amongst words, whether it be in books or in film. A pop culture fanatic, cemetery creeper, and self-proclaimed nerd, she’s always following her favorite fandoms, the latest foodie finds, or picking her next city excursion or outdoor undertaking.

Her obsessions are on the brink of bizarre, but that’s just the way she likes it.

Connect:

Website: http://www.alexrosa.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oh_alex/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.arosa/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/oh_alexrosa

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmp6sXtpogVULhA48ccaTYQ

Podcast: https://www.bookbabesandbubbles.com/

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Spotlight: When Lions Roar by Karen Leigh Gruber

Two women from different lands, each struggling to survive; a child’s mysterious disappearance will alter both their lives forever…

Maggie has become unrecognizable to herself, succumbing to the predictability of being a mother and wife. Every day she reminds her daughter to brush her teeth, has the same conversation with her husband about what’s for dinner. Maggie struggles to cope with the disenchantment of the monotonous tedium that has become her life. Despite her boredom, when her husband David is called on assignment to South Africa, Maggie resents having to rearrange her life just because David has decided they all need to traipse halfway across the globe.

While on safari, Maggie awakens one morning to a mother’s worst nightmare; their daughter Hannah has gone missing. Just when things can’t get any worse, Maggie is confronted with the harsh truth of her emotionally abusive marriage and what she has allowed her life to become.

When Lions Roar is set against the backdrop of the exotic and intriguing landscape of South Africa, when the country is reeling from the aftershocks of apartheid. Will Maggie find the strength and courage to abandon the fragile ties of her marriage and confront her self-destruction in time to save the life of her daughter?

Excerpt

I moved from the hall into the kitchen. Without a moment’s hesitation, I reached for the cabinet door, the one that is closest to the refrigerator, the one that contained my relief. I reached for the bottle. It slid off the shelf with a satisfying sound, but I quickly realized it only had a sip or two left. Damn it, not nearly enough. I padded out to the garage where we keep all our spares. Just the way David likes it: spare toilet paper, spare baggies, backups of all our canned goods, and for me, of course, a generous backup supply of alcohol. I grabbed my favorite vodka and headed back inside. On the way in, I noticed a candy wrapper on the floor of the garage—a Dum Dum wrapper, to be exact—Mystery Flavor, if I was not mistaken. 

I’ll pick that up later, I thought to myself. My hands were a bit full. And right then, I had more important things to tend to. 

Back in the kitchen, I pulled myself a nice long pour, then to the fridge for some juice. Damn it, again. I was out of cranberry juice. It would have to be Diet 7-Up today. I topped off my glass with a splash of the soda, and I headed back to the front of the house. I passed the mirror yet again. For the third time that day, I looked into the mirror, but this time I raised my glass, and looking into my own deep blue eyes, I mocked, “Here’s looking at you, kid.” 

I regarded myself as I took a deep, long drink.

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About the Author

Karen Gruber is an international #1 best-selling contributing author, inspirational speaker, and a Leadership Development Coach for women and moms. She specializes in inspiring moms to realize their potential as mothers, women, and leaders. Karen has had extensive specialized training in parenting, feminine spirituality, and leadership.  Over the past 15 years she has provided innovative leadership coaching for moms and has dramatically transformed her own life.

Sharing her life with her husband Jim and daughter Jaymie, presenting her message to other women, and traveling the world bring her the greatest joy.

She is the founder of The Inspired Mama, a company located in gorgeous Denver, Colorado that focuses on the inspiration, leadership, and wellbeing of women and moms.

When Lions Roar is Karen’s debut fictional work. She is freakish about Christmas lights and loves to play Baccarat.  

Website: https://theinspiredmama.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karen.kraussgruber

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspiredmama/

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Spotlight: The Captive King by Susan Copperfield

(Royal States #3)
Publication date: February 12th 2018
Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy

In the Royal States of America, magic rules all, but life—and love—always finds a way.

At the Texas Charity Auction, money can buy anything, and Summer Cassidy is under orders to take advantage of the opportunity. While she believes the marital collar once worn by an Aztec queen belongs in a museum, it’s up to her to sell the priceless treasure to one of the elite in attendance.

Meeting Bachelor #103, a man who finds her descriptions of human sacrifice charming rather than appalling, hadn’t been part of her plans. Buying his company for a quarter hadn’t been part of her plans, either.

One coffee date, a dinner, and a curse later, Summer’s catapulted across the Royal States on an adventure that will forever change her life, alter the course of an entire kingdom, and give her a chance to earn a love capable of defying even death.

Excerpt

How had I gotten saddled with attending the Texas charity auction? I wanted to return to my tent in Mexico and hide, but no. Someone from the Nahua dig team at Joya de Ballesteros had to convince some overly wealthy, braindead elite to part with his money, and by virtue of being the only intern with tits, I'd gotten the job.

Hell, I was the only woman at Site C, and most of the team wasn't sure what to think about that. The ones who weren't busy trying to get into my pants blamed me for each and every disruption.

After the first time I'd buried a would-be assaulter neck deep in dirt, they'd kept their harassment verbal so history wouldn't repeat itself.

If I wanted my doctorate, I needed to shut the hell up, sell the damned jade Nahua marital collar for top dollar, and deal with the humiliation of being the only unmasked attendee at a bloody masquerade ball.

I wished I was wearing something other than muddy cargo pants with pockets full of digging tools.

A little warning would've been nice.

“The last time a woman attended an auction looking like she’d just come in from the fields, she charmed herself a king,” a man murmured behind me.

The last thing I needed was to be compared to the talk of the entire auction, the future wife of Montana’s king. I scowled, clutching the polished wooden box containing the jade necklace to my chest. “I was at a temple, not a field.”

A field would’ve been a lot nicer; in some ways, I appreciated the respite from the smothering jungle humidity and the incessant attention of thirsty mosquitos.

“A temple? Were they having a mud-wrestling competition?”

I bit the bullet and turned to face him. He wore a suit like every other man present at the auction, although his was navy rather than the standard black. Unlike everyone else, he wore a plain black mask, just enough to cover his face so he couldn’t be readily identified. I found his lack of feathers, gemstones, and trappings reassuring.

He was either like me—a goose stuck among swans—or he was an elite with no fucks left to give about what anyone thought of him.

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About the Author

Susan Copperfield is the royal romance, urban fantasy loving alter ego of award-winning & USA Today bestselling novelist RJ Blain.

Under the super not-so-secret identity of Susan, the Royal States of America is explored, where the work of sixteen founding royal families preserved the United States from destruction and civil war when magic swept over the world.

In the Royal States, life, love, and magic always finds a way.

Connect:

https://www.thesneakykittycritic.com/

https://www.thesneakykittycritic.com/newsletter-signup/

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSusanCopperfield/

https://www.instagram.com/susancopperfield/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17198086.Susan_Copperfield

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Spotlight: Swan Lake by L.B. Alexander

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

And then, there was quiet. 

Physically, I knew nothing had changed. My heart still raced. My legs still shook. My breaths were short and shallow, and my stomach continued to flip. 

But there was an unmistakable hush, and I couldn't tell if that exquisite solace was sourced from my body or from his. It was as if I'd spent my entire life surrounded by white noise, and I was experiencing true, absolute silence for the first time. 

My fearful body was not dancing to anxiety. 

It was dancing entirely to arousal.

All April wants is a moment of quiet. But due to an ongoing struggle with mental illness, silence has become an elusive privilege she fears she'll never capture. An eating disorder has brought her burgeoning ballet career to a sudden halt, and a traumatic experience in a strict rehabilitation facility has rendered her more humble than ever. Now that she has returned to her native Southern California, April is content to conceal the dangerous half of herself she fears under a tenuous white mask of control.

But the façade is disrupted when April meets William - her older, mysterious, and disgraced new employer. She finds freedom in him, for like her, he is also two-natured. There's a mask he shows the world.

And a dark, true half he hides...

A novel in three acts.

Exclusive Excerpt

“Close your eyes, and open your mouth,” he said.

Instantly there was darkness as I automatically obliged.

“You, April, are two-natured. Half of you is pure. Chaste. Modest and fearful. Timid, sweet, and virginal. This is the part of yourself you choose to show the world,” William said.

I jumped when I suddenly felt his fingertips on my face, slowly trailing across my jaw.

“But there’s another half of you...the half you keep bound, and hidden. I saw it at Alyeska, and again at Demimonde. And, April...it’s passionate. It’s fierce. It’s powerful. It’s greedy. It’s...raw sex,” he said, and he placed the strawberry in my mouth.

I couldn’t contain my moan at the first taste of the creamy confection, melting on my tongue in a sumptuous wave. I could feel every taste receptor activating in fervor, far more intense than what I remembered of a sugar high. My entire body felt overstimulated by the highly concentrated sweet.

I licked my lips and swallowed the sinful fruit. “Open your eyes,” William commanded.

I obeyed, and it seemed as if the world around us had disappeared. William, in front of me, was my beginning and end. His pupils were enlarged, and his mouth was slightly parted.

He licked his lips.

“I can smell submission on your skin, April. Tonight, I want to taste it.” 

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About L.B. Alexander

L.B. Alexander is an American author based in perpetually sunny California, specializing in high romance and women’s fiction. An optimist at heart, and a true believer in happily ever afters, she strives to tell memorable, passionate stories that can intrigue, challenge, arouse and most importantly, inspire. 

Connect with L.B.: Instagram | Facebook | Website