Spotlight: Decide to Live by Shirley Anne Edwards

Release Date: Feb 14th
Genre:  Young Adult, Horror, Paranormal

When it hurts too much to live, how does one find the strength to stay alive and find hope again?

Reiko Nakano has a charmed life. Not only does the twenty-three-old come from a life of luxury because of her celebrity parents and supermodel sister, she’s best friends with the biggest brother and sister pop duo in the world- Gio and Gem Grove. But what the public assumes is wrong different because of what Reiko suffers in private. She feels she’s an outcast in her own family because of her ptosis and her social anxiety. She then makes the biggest mistake of her life and tries to turn her lifelong crush on Gio into something more. His cruel rejection after she lets him take her virginity leaves her heartbroken.

Reiko hides in the least likely of places- the small town of Albee, Pennsylvania. There she enjoys her anonymity and enrolls in summer classes at Maison University. She hopes she can fit in as a student, but life continues to play tricks on her when she’s hit in the face by a football from one of the most popular boys on campus, Will Forest. But this accidental but memorial meeting will help heal her fragile emotions because Will shows her how special she is to those she meets, including him.

She isn’t sure what to make of Will. He’s too nice and sweet, and treats her like gold. She accepts his attempts at romance even though it’s only temporary. But as the summer flies by, she doesn’t want to give Will up, who doesn’t know the truth about her “vacation”. And when Gio arrives in town, and threatens to out Reiko, she has some hard choices to make. Does she come clean to Will so she can decide to finally live on her own terms and embrace the amazing woman Will thinks her to be?

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Shirley Anne Edwards is a Northeast girl who first found her love for books when she read Nancy Drew’s The Secret of the Old Clock Tower at thirteen. Shirley found her love for writing at a very young age, and since then has let her imagination run wild by creating quirky characters and vast worlds in her head.
Shirley lives in New Jersey and works in the entertainment industry in New York City.
In the immortal words of Mark Twain: “Life is short, Break the Rules. Forgive quickly, Kiss SLOWLY. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret ANYTHING That makes you smile.”

Connect:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8424872.Shirley_Anne_Edwards

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShirlAwriter

Website: https://shirlwriteredwards.wordpress.com/ 

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

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

Wattpad:https://www.wattpad.com/user/ShirleyAnneEdwards

Spotlight: Tempting Heat by Sara Whitney

Genre:  RomCom

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐛 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐳𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞.

I spent years in love with his best friend’s girl. Not that uncommon, really. They even write songs about it.

Then she blamed me for their ugly breakup, and we parted as enemies.

So it’s suuuper awkward years later when a blizzard traps me with the woman I never expected to see again.

The woman who’s more beautiful than ever.

The woman who’s still too angry to look me in the eyes.

𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨, 𝐚 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞-𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲. 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐛𝐞𝐝. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐲, 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥-𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡 𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Sara Whitney writes sassy, sexy contemporary romance novels packed with wit, heat, and heart. A 2019 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award finalist, Sara worked as a newspaper reporter and film critic before she earned her Ph.D. and landed in academia. She’s a good pinball player, a so-so karaoke singer, and an expert TV opinion-haver.

In a funny twist of fate, Sara’s married to a divorce attorney, and she likes to think that her happily-ever-afters help keep their household in balance. She and her husband live in the Midwest surrounded by books, cats, and half-empty coffee cups.  Keep up with Sara by subscribing to her mailing list here. 

Connect:

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

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/saras.squad/

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarawhitney_

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sara-Whitney/e/B07RPBJV4L/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/sara-whitney

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/sarawhitney_

Newsletter: https://sarawhitney.com/subscribe

Spotlight: Broken by Evelyn Sola

He swept into my life, like an unexpected storm. One minute I’m planning forever and the next, I’m left picking up the pieces. Three years have passed and now he’s back wanting to reclaim what once was. Can lightning strike twice or will they be left broken? Readers who love second chance romances will enjoy this diverse, contemporary romance. 

JULIA
I never saw Noah Weston coming. He swept into my life like an unexpected storm, but soon, he was everything to me.
Until tragedy struck.
One day I was planning the rest of my life with my soulmate, and the next I was picking up the pieces of a love so strong, it broke me apart. 
It took three years to put myself back together.
Three years until I was ready to move on.
I’ll never forget it. The day he came back.
Can lightening strike twice? Maybe, but when I look into his eyes, all I remember are the last words he ever spoke to me.
The words that left me broken.

NOAH
I loved her before I knew her name. She was more than just my heartbeat. Julia Blake was a dream too good to be true.
When real life invaded the bubble we had created, I was left a broken man.
I survived, but I was dead inside. Half the man I used to be.
The half I needed had a new life without me.
Three years later, I’m back to reclaim what I’ve lost.
I’m back for her, only she wants nothing to do with me.

Add to Goodreads Here! 

Buy Now or Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited! 

Amazon → https://amzn.to/3hNpCxF 

Excerpt 

Copyright 2021 @Evelyn Sola

 I take another bite of the brownie and then lay flat on the grass, letting the October sun kiss my brown skin while I enjoy the chocolatey goodness.
“Ahh,” I say to myself, “after this, I can die happy.” I put both hands behind my head and squint at the sun beaming down on me.
“I hope not,” I hear a deep voice say.
I sit up and look at the figure, but the bright sun blocks his face. I block the sun by putting a hand on my forehead and look into a pair of familiar eyes, the clearest green I’ve ever seen. The sun dips behind a cloud, giving me a clear view of his face.
It’s the ginger hottie with the bun. He’s either a transfer or a graduate student because, in all my years here, I’ve never seen him until recently. But whatever the circumstances, he’s certainly noticeable. And I never turn down an opportunity to ogle good eye candy.
First, he’s head and shoulders taller than everyone on campus. He walks around, his shoulders broad, as if he owns the place. Unlike most of the people at this school, I’ve never seen him with an entourage. The few times I’ve seen him, he’s been alone.
His bun is messier than usual today. Half of it has fallen out of the elastic and hangs on his very broad shoulders. The wind blows, making his hair messier, and my fingers itch to put it back in place.
I’ve never been this close to him, and when I look into his face again, I notice a small scar above his left eyebrow. I envision running a finger over that scar fifty different ways.
“Well, if you ever had this brownie, you’d die a happy death too,” I finally say.
Normally, I’d be tongue-tied around someone as good looking as him, but knowing that he must be making small talk between classes and that someone like him would never be interested in me, I decide to just be myself.
“Are you going to share, then? I want to judge this brownie for myself.” His eyes twinkle when he smiles, and the smile reveals a dimple in each cheek. When he sticks his hand out, I stare at it, dumbfounded. “Noah Weston,” he says, and I finally shake his hand.
I’m a tall woman, only an inch shy of six feet. My hands have always been considered large, but now it’s totally engulfed in his. He wraps his hand around mine, holding it firmly, showing the contrast between my brown hand and his much lighter one. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he doesn’t want to let go, but he does after I give it a little tug.
“Julia Blake.” I rub my hand on my jeans, trying to erase the electrical charge from his brief touch.

Buy Now or Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited! 

About Evelyn Sola 

A Boston native, wife, mother, and wine enthusiast. If she’s not writing, thinking about writing, you will find Evelyn with a book in her hands. While a new publisher, she’s been writing for years, and she will continue to write for many years to come.  

Evelyn is obsessed with assertive and confident men who will stop at nothing to get their woman. Her stories are filled with love, passion and humor. 

She currently lives in Chicago, IL with her husband and two daughters.

Follow: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Reader Group | Goodreads | BookBub | Newsletter | Amazon 

Spotlight: Journey to Hope by June Converse

Women’s Fiction

Date Published: August 22, 2020

Publisher: Heart Ally Books

When you lose everyone and everything you love, can you ever live again? Or love again?

An unimaginable trauma. A future that seems impossible. When your world shatters, how do you put it back together?

When Matt Nelson found Kathleen on the beach, she’d been hiding behind a scarf and sunglasses for three years. She couldn’t hide her loneliness, and he couldn’t turn away. But when her flashbacks start, they’re both unprepared for the repercussions and the depth of her emotional suffering.

Kathleen agrees to return to intensive trauma recovery at The Charlotte Center, where the sounds and the smells and the images from that terrible night await her, demanding she confront her demons.

The world of PTSD recovery is fraught with terror and pain for both Kathleen and Matt. Will their love prove strong enough to survive the agonizing and arduous journey? Can Kathleen move beyond her anger and learn to live again?

Excerpt

Matt stroked her jaw. “You are many things. Strong, Courageous. Beautiful. But you’ve had one thousand four hundred thirty-one days without peace.”

She shifted out of his embrace. Turning to one of the larger plants, she jerked the plant out by its roots, scattering dirt across the table. “I’m scared.”

“Me, too. But it’s not a question of wanting to do this. No one would want to do this. The question is, are we willing to do this? Are we willing to see this through?”

She turned to glare at him. “You act like we walk down a path and come out on the other side. I will never be through this. Do you expect me to stop missing them? Do you expect me to be normal? That’s not even the goal. If that’s what you expect, I’ll head back to the beach right now.”

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

June happily resides in Sandy Springs, Georgia, with her husband, Dave, and their dog, Sodapop. They have two wonderful adult children and two grandchildren. She is an enthusiastic exerciser and an accomplished cook. She and her husband enjoy hiking with Sodapop, traveling, scuba diving, trying new restaurants, concerts, and whatever other adventures they can find. Reading and a constant desire to learn keeps her busy too.

A trauma survivor who struggles with mental illness, June is continuously reaching for hope like the characters in her books. She openly discusses her personal struggles on her blog, JuneConverse.com

Decide to Hope is her first novel and relies a great deal on her own experience with trauma, choices, recovery and hope. If you'd like to discuss trauma, coping and recovery, contact her at JuneConverse.com or DecideToHope.com

Connect:

Website: http://juneconverse.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/juneaconverse

Blog: https://juneconverse.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17722883.June_Converse

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/converse.june/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/june-converse-060ba482/

Spotlight: Audrey’s Inn by Elle Aycart

Audrey Fleming never had much of a family or place to call home, so when she gets the chance to buy an inn that once belonged to her late namesake, she doesn’t think twice. Never mind her lack of funds, connections, and experience. Besides, she’s out of options and Alden seems like the ideal place to lie low for a good long while.

Connor Stonewell, beloved grandson of Greta, OG extraordinaire, was once one of Alden’s Golden Boys. Now he’s a hot mess. He’d never envisioned a future where he wasn’t in the military, so getting discharged after a mission gone horribly wrong has left him adrift in the civilian world.

He’s too dangerous to be around his fellow soldiers—never mind a certain sweet, sexy innkeeper he can’t seem to stay away from. He should stop playing with fire. Pack his shit and disappear for good. Too bad he can’t do it. Walking away from Audrey is something every fiber of his being refuses to do. 

Their secrets will sooner or later catch up with them. Audrey and Connor both know it. But whether they’ll survive or crash and burn under the weight of revelation is anybody’s guess.

Buy on Amazon

About Elle

After a colorful array of jobs all over Europe ranging from translator to chocolatier to travel agent to sushi chef to flight dispatcher, Elle Aycart is certain of one thing and one thing only: aside from writing romances, she has abso-frigging-lutely no clue what she wants to do when she grows up. Not that it stops her from trying all sorts of crazy stuff. While she is probably now thinking of a new profession, her head never stops churning new plots for her romances. She lives currently in Barcelona, Spain, with her husband and two daughters, although who knows, in no time she could be living at the Arctic Circle in Finland, breeding reindeer.

Connect with Elle: Goodreads | Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Facebook Group 

Spotlight: My Sweet Enemy by Jenny Hartwell

Publication Date: February 8, 2021

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Opposites Attract

Genres: Entangled: Embrace, New Adult, Contemporary, Romantic Comedy

The only thing tempering their insta-hate is delicious attraction.

Sunny chocolatier Charlotte Beecher is unemployed, in student debt, and on the verge of hawking her beloved copper pots just to make ends meet. So when a gourmet chocolate factory chooses her as one of five candidates to help re-launch the company in their Charlie and the Chocolate Factory inspired competition, Charlotte begins to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Fellow contestant Luke Wells complicates her plans to win by a landslide with his flow charts and marketing projections. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Haughty is all about the bottom line and is as bitter as she is sweet. And when he snubs Charlotte in the first challenge, misunderstanding or not, she transforms from cream puff to jawbreaker. Bring. It. On.

But when these two rivals find themselves distracted by delicious attraction, will they let their passion get in the way of winning the competition?

Excerpt

She opened the door and stepped inside.

“Oh!” She started at the sight of another person inside the fridge, and her foot rammed into something on the floor. “What are you—” she began to ask.

The other person turned. “The door!” Luke shouted. Charlotte gasped and pivoted, pushing out with her empty hand to stop the door from closing, but she was too late. It closed with a heavy clank.

She glanced down, and in the dim light inside the cooler, she saw a brick near the door. It must have been propping it open while he was in here, and she’d accidentally kicked it out of the way.

She set her chocolate molds on a shelf and pushed on the door handle. It didn’t budge.

“Damn it,” Luke growled, striding across the small space. He rattled the handle, but the door didn’t open for him either.

Crap. “We’re locked in,” she said.

He nodded.

“Inside an industrial refrigerator.”

He nodded again.

“The two of us.”

Luke slowly pivoted to face her. “Did you do this on purpose?” he asked, his voice hard.

“What?” Charlotte stared at him. “Are you freaking kidding me?” She shivered. It was damn cold in here, and about to get colder.

“No, are you freaking kidding me?” he retorted, leaning toward her. In the dim light, his eyes glittered with barely suppressed fury.

Charlotte shivered again. “Of course I didn’t do it on purpose,” she shouted. “If I wanted to trap you in an icebox of death, don’t you think I’d make sure I was on the other side of the door?”

She glared, and their eyes dueled for what seemed like an eternity. Charlotte’s neck began to protest her sustained glare with someone a foot taller, so she dropped her eyes and stepped back. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself. She’d left her light jacket in the interns’ office and didn’t even have the extra protection of her apron, since that was sitting at her workstation in the main part of the kitchen.

Damn, it was wickedly cold in there.

Luke banged on the door with his fist and hollered. They both waited in silence to see if anyone would come. Aside from the whir of the fridge’s motor, there was no sound.

“They’re all downstairs, eating lunch,” Charlotte murmured. It was unlikely anyone would be back in the kitchen for an hour since Simone had told them to take their time after working so hard during the morning session.

“Damn,” Luke said, still facing the door. His breath puffed out in a cloud. It had grown even colder once the temperature stabilized with the door shut.

Charlotte’s teeth began to chatter. “I’m s-sorry.”

He turned around.

“I d-didn’t realize about the b-brick,” she added. Damn, it was painfully cold. Her fingertips were growing numb.

His eyes scanned her body. “We could freeze to death.” He sounded almost clinical, but she shivered in response to the heated look in his eyes anyway. A shiver on top of a shiver. God, she was pathetic.

“W-what do we do?” she asked. “Jog in p-place?”

They both trotted where they stood. Luke rubbed his hands together. Charlotte tucked hers under her arms. Their breaths came out in white puffs.

“It’s not enough,” he said grimly after a moment. “I think there’s only one option.”

“You’ll s-sacrifice yourself so I c-can pull a Luke Skywalker and climb inside your steaming abdominal cavity?”

He narrowed his eyes.

She shrugged with a whatcha-gonna-do expression. If you couldn’t make Star Wars jokes as you were literally freezing to death, when could you?

He took a step closer, his arms opening.

Charlotte’s eyes widened, and she took a step back. “W-what are you d-doing?”

“We h-have to share body heat.” Now Luke’s teeth were chattering too.

Charlotte swallowed. Could she do it? Could she wrap herself in the embrace of her sworn nemesis, the evilest man on the planet? Well, there were convicted murderers locked away for life, so the evilest man in the building perhaps?

She shuddered with cold. A sharp ache worked its way through her skin and muscle into her sinew, her veins, her very bones.

Even her brain began to feel frozen.

It seemed her options were to either allow this sexy man to wrap her up in his strong arms or to perish from turning into a human icicle. So…she supposed she would take the sexy, evil man.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Jenny Hartwell has a confession—she loves People magazine as much as Pride and Prejudice. Her pop culture humor shines in her contemporary rom-com novels set in a gourmet chocolate factory. Her writing has won or finaled in numerous contests including the Golden Heart, The Emily, Four Seasons, Fool for Love, and The Catherine. Jenny lives with her family in the verdant Pacific Northwest. She loves movies, travel, and staying up way too late with a good book. And, of course, chocolate. Jenny is represented by Lesley Sabga of The Seymour Agency.

Connect:

Website: http://jennyhartwell.com

Facebook: http://bit.ly/3nEZhmI

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_JennyHartwell

Instagram: https://bit.ly/2XIMMfa

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/2LU5dLh

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/38K8J45

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2KxNLMx

Amazon Author Profile: https://amzn.to/2M42NKi

Entangled Publishing: www.entangledpublishing.com/my-sweet-enemy

a Rafflecopter giveaway