Spotlight: Between Rage & Regret by Willa Watkins

When Kai disappeared five years ago, he left Shayleigh with a broken heart. Now he’s back and wants to reconnect with those he left behind, but one secret will turn his life upside down. Can Kai and Shayleigh’s love overcome all the suffering and secrets?

Fans of K.C. Crowne and Melanie Harlow will love Between Rage & Regret by Willa Watkins, a slow burn, enemies to lovers, second chance, small town romance.

Blurb

Kai Ashford has been treated differently by his father his entire life, receiving only coldness and often violence. When he discovers the reason for so much contempt, a tragedy happens and he disappears.

Five years later, he is forced to return to help his brothers and reconnects with the people he left behind.

Shayleigh has known Kai her entire life and hates him for having broken her heart all those years ago. She does everything to resist his charms and keep him out of her life.

During Kai’s attempt to understand Shayleigh’s hatred, secrets are revealed. One which will turn Kai’s life upside down. Can love overcome all the suffering and secrets?

Excerpt 

Copyright 2021 @Willa Watkins

Kai hopped over the low fence that separated our houses, wearing shorts that fell loosely on his hips. He was shirtless and barefoot with unruly hair.
"You're trespassing," I said.
He ignored me and approached with a wide smile. "Did you miss me?"
I did and I was ashamed of it. "Barely noticed you were gone."
"Well, I missed you, Shayleigh. I couldn't stop thinking about you the entire trip," he said, sounding sincere. However, I knew him well. This was Kai being Kai. "I even brought you a present."
"Whatever it is, it can't be good."
"Is William home?" He signaled with his chin in the direction of my house.
"Yes, he's home and you should leave."
Surprisingly, he obeyed and jumped back to his side of the fence and I didn't see him anymore. But good things never last and he returned a few minutes later. At least this time he stayed on his property.
"Come here, Shay." He waved me over. "I want to give you your gift."
He wasn't kidding. Maybe he did think of me. "No, thanks."
"I'm serious, Shay. Come here. You won't regret it."
I bit my lip, eyes everywhere but on Kai. But then I glanced up and pleading brown eyes stared back. Eyes that looked so deeply into my own. My body squirmed just a little as my muscles relaxed. There was something about that gaze of his and I almost caved. Almost.
"No, go home, Kai." My breathing became softer and his pleading expression dissolved into a smile as soft as the morning light and that was enough to melt the ice in me. "Fine."
Groaning, I stood and strolled to the fence. He was holding a rectangular box wrapped in gold paper with a red bow.
"For you." He thrust it in my direction. I took the box and eyed it with uncertainty. "Aren't you going to open it?"
"What's in this?"
"Open and you'll see."
I shook the box. It was light and whatever was inside shifted. "If this is some prank..."
"Why do you always think the worst of me?"
"Because you are the worst, but I'll open it later. Thanks." I turned my back on him and hurried inside.
Two at a time, I ran up the stairs and locked myself in my room. Curious to know what he had gotten me, I tugged on the red bow and loosened the knot. I lifted the cover and once I grasped what was in it, I burned from the roots of my hair to my toes.
I was going to kill Kai!
I marched to my window, unlocked it, and called out his name. He appeared instantly.
"F*ck you, Kai," I spat.
"No, baby. F*ck you, if you know what I mean."
Fuming, I picked up the purple dildo and threw it at him. It didn't reach him but fell on his yard and the jerk burst out laughing.

Buy Now or Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited! 

About Willa Watkins 

Willa is an author of mature New Adult and Contemporary Romance. She is happiest writing her fearless kissing tales with a cup of coffee in hand. Her stories are addictive, suspenseful, and angsty.

Willa also loves connecting with her readers. So don't hesitate to contact or follow her on social media to stay up to date with her writing.

Follow: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Bookbub | Amazon | Newsletter

Spotlight: At First Hate by K.A.Linde

Release Date: September 7

A new stand alone enemies-to-lovers romance from USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde…

Derek Ballentine and I have always been on opposite sides of everything.

I went to a public Savannah high school. He went to a private Catholic school. I went to Duke on scholarship. He went to UNC as a legacy. When we both end up at Harvard for graduate school and we’re finally on a level playing field, I think it’s all going to change.

I was wrong.

The only thing that changed was ending up in his bed.

Now my grandma has passed away, and Derek is the attorney helping the people trying to steal her legacy. I’ll do anything to stop that from happening. Even take on my lifetime enemy.

I hate him at first sight…but I also want him at first hate.

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Audible | Kindle

About the Author

K.A. Linde is the USA Today bestselling author of the Avoiding Series, Wrights, and more than thirty other novels. She has a Masters degree in political science from the University of Georgia, was the head campaign worker for the 2012 presidential campaign at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and served as the head coach of the Duke University dance team. She loves reading fantasy novels, binge-watching Supernatural, traveling, and dancing in her spare time.

She currently lives in Lubbock, Texas, with her husband and two super-adorable puppies.

Visit her online at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @authorkalinde.

Join her newsletter for exclusive content, free books, and giveaways every month.

Spotlight: A Bright Young Thing by Brianne Moore

Historical Fiction

Date Published: 7 September 2021

Publisher: Alcove Press

England, 1931

Astra Davies finds herself in rather a tight spot when her parents die suddenly, leaving her with a heap of debts and damaging family secrets to sort out. Unwilling to enter a loveless marriage with a wealthy suitor, she instead makes the audacious decision to make her own way in the world.

But the road to financial independence is a rocky one, fraught with hazards and heartbreaking choices. A brainless business partner threatens to ruin both her reputation and their company. Family mysteries and startling discoveries make her question her parents’ motives and her relationship with them. And when she catches the eye of the extremely eligible (and rather poor) Earl of Dunreaven, Astra winds up directly in the crosshairs of her longtime nemesis: the wealthy, influential Lady Millicent, who’s now hell bent on bringing her down for good.

Astra will have to dig deep and call on strength and skills she never knew she had if she’s going to prove to herself and the world that she is more than just a pretty Bright Young Thing.

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Audible | Hardcover

About the Author

Brianne Moore is a writer, editor, baker, knitter, and lifelong history lover. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, she spent her childhood spinning tales of bold princesses and brilliant ladies and developing a deep love for British history.

She moved to the glorious, history-soaked city of Edinburgh nearly 10 years ago and felt like she'd finally come home. She now lives by the sea in an East Lothian town with its very own castle with her husband, sons, and bulldog, Isla.

Her debut novel, All Stirred Up, was published by Alcove Press in 2020.

Connect:

Website: http://www.briannemooreauthor.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/armchanglophile

Blog: http://www.armchairanglophile.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20005884.Brianne_Moore

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/armchanglophile

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

Spotlight: Secrets of a One Night Stand by Naima Simone

She said yes to one night with a stranger… Now she’s pregnant and that stranger is her boss! Only in this Billionaires of Boston romance from USA TODAY bestselling author Naima Simone.

She told herself it was one night. Nothing more.

But her heart knew the truth…

Finding out her previous one-night fling is her new boss is the shock of Mycah Hill’s lifetime. She can’t say no to being VP for software CEO Achilles Farrell—she’s finally made her career dream come true. But knowing he’s so close… It’s only a matter of time before she’s back in his arms. It can’t end well. Achilles’s tortured family history means he’s not up for sticking around long-term. But Mycah’s surprise pregnancy is about to change everything…

Excerpt

He propped his elbows on the bar top and ground his thumb and forefinger into his eyes. What he wouldn’t give to be back in Tacoma, Washington, in his cabin less than a mile from the Cascade Range. So far away from affluent Beacon Hill, Massachusetts. And not just in location.

But as he’d stood in that mansion’s ridiculously huge library with its hardwood floor, leather furniture, fireplaces large enough for even him to stand in, spiral staircase and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, it hadn’t been just his black thermal shirt, faded jeans and battered brown boots that had differentiated him from the other men in the room.

Cain Farrell—his older brother, the heir, the son Barron Farrell had kept and acknowledged. Kenan Rhodes—the youngest son, biracial and the other bastard besides Achilles. But both men hailed from the same world. Boston’s elite. It was in the razor-sharp yet elegant cut of their suits. The cultured speech. The arrogant demeanor.

Achilles had encountered people like them. And had ended up despising every one of them.

Now he had to call them brother.

Life should really offer him a cigarette when it decided to fuck him.

Again.

“You starting a tab or paying for these now?” The bartender set a mug filled with dark, cold brew topped with a creamy head that spilled a little over the rim. Next to it sat a short, smooth glass of amber whiskey.

Perfect.

“A tab.” Because yeah, he was just getting started. The whole purpose of this trip entailed not thinking. And several rounds should accomplish his mission.

“I’ll be back, then.”

She cocked her head, running a dark blue gaze down his frame. He’d hit six foot his sophomore year of high school and had kept growing. He’d become used to that glint in a woman’s eyes. And he didn’t shy from it. The only thing better than losing himself in alcohol was hot, dirty, nameless sex.

His height, his build and his eyes—those were the only things his worthless sperm donor had passed down to him, and women seemed to eat that shit up. He picked up the shot of Jameson and knocked it back, never breaking visual contact with the pretty brunette. The corner of her lips lifted, desire flickering in her gaze as it dipped to his mouth.

“Let me know if you need to order food. Y’know, to balance all that alcohol. Can’t have you too wasted just in case you have later…plans.” She smirked before sauntering off to the other end of the bar.

“Hmm. That was subtle.”

Achilles stiffened.

That voice.

Like a fire beating back the coldest winter winds.

Like fingernails on a chalkboard.

As silken and sexy as skin sliding over bare, heated skin.

As jarring as crashing cymbals directly in the ear.

He longed to curl up against it, roll around in it.

He wanted to snarl at it, hurl himself away from it.

His heart smashed against his rib cage like a caged beast. His pulse, in sharp contrast, a sonorous warning at the base of his throat. Something primitive inside him warned that he should go find that bartender with the invitation in her eyes, pay for his drinks and get the hell out.

But the impulsive, destructive streak that had brought him to Massachusetts must have still been alive and kicking because he didn’t heed that warning. Instead, he slowly turned around on his barstool.

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Mass Paperback

About the Author

USA Today Bestselling author Naima Simone's love of romance was first stirred by Johanna Lindsey and Nora Roberts years ago. Well not that many. She is only eighteen...ish. Published since 2009, she spends her days writing sizzling romances with heart, a touch of humor and snark. 

She is wife to Superman--or his non-Kryptonian equivalent--and mother to the most awesome kids ever. They live in perfect, sometimes domestically-challenged bliss in the southern US.

Connect with the Author 

Website: http://naimasimone.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naimasimoneauthor/?ref=bookmarks

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Naima_Simone

Spotlight: The Bride he Stole for Christmas by Caitlin Crews

There’s only one reason this bride won’t walk down the aisle…and he’s back! A captivating Christmas romance from USA TODAY bestselling author Caitlin Crews.

She gave him her innocence.
Can he win her back by Christmas?

Certain that she will never love again, Timoney George has agreed to a convenient marriage. If she can’t recapture the hot, all-consuming chemistry she discovered with Crete Asgar, she might as well have cold security.

Crete tried to forget Timoney, but the idea of another man possessing her is intolerable. With just twelve hours until she walks down the aisle, Crete steals her back. And now he has the night before Christmas to prove to her—and himself—that he won’t break her heart all over again…

Excerpt

Tell me your name, he had ordered her. And then tell me what it will take to make you mine.

She shuddered at that, here on her frigid bench on this lonely Christmas Eve, her body as alive and greedy as she had been that night.

And Timoney wanted to scream out all the anguish, all the artless fury that he’d left her with. His betrayal so absolute that it had taken her whole months to fully comprehend exactly what he’d done. Chucked her out. Forgotten her name. Washed his hands of her completely.

Yet tonight, when she should have been reveling in exactly how cold and dead inside she’d become, it was as if he was here. A ghostly presence in the mist, and it seemed deeply unfair that any ghost could fill a cold garden the way he had always overwhelmed a room.

She blew out a breath and told herself not to be such a fool. For once.

Crete was immovable. A terrible wall of stone and silence, and some part of her had known that from the start.

And still she had run straight for all that brick and smashed herself apart.

“Have you fallen asleep, Timoney?” came the terrible, wonderful, familiar voice.

Timoney wrenched open her eyes, and as she did, the moon came out from behind the clouds.

And it was impossible, but Crete was there. He stood before her looking beautiful and dangerous, as ever. He was sheer male glory in his typical uniform, one of those dark, bespoke suits that made love to his body in all the ways she longed to do.

It was not possible, and yet every hair on her body seemed to stand on end, so she knew that it was real. That this was no dream.

That somehow, Crete Asgar was stood in the remains of the garden while her uncle and her husband-to-be carried on toasting the wedding up in the manor house.

“Crete…” she whispered.

And all the feelings she’d been holding at bay slammed back into her, and worse, were lit up with hope.

Because he had finished with her because she’d committed the cardinal sin of telling him she loved him. Why would he be here, on the night before her wedding no less, unless he was finally ready to admit what she had always suspected, that he loved her, too? What else could bring him out on Christmas Eve?

“You can’t possibly marry that old man in the morning,” he told her, and he did not sound like a man tortured by love. He did not sound tortured at all. Or in love. If anything, Crete sounded impatient. “I have standards, Timoney. Obviously any lover after me will be a downgrade. But this verges on an insult.”

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Mass Market Paperback

About the Author

USA Today bestselling, RITA-nominated, and critically-acclaimed author Caitlin Crews has written more than 100 books and counting. She has a Masters and Ph.D. in English Literature, thinks everyone should read more category romance, and is always available to discuss her beloved alpha heroes. Just ask. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her comic book artist husband, is always planning her next trip, and will never, ever, read all the books in her to-be-read pile. Thank goodness.

Connect with the Author 

Website: https://megancrane.com/ 

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/megancrane 

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

Spotlight: Enchanted Kisses by Tara Gallina

Publication date: September 2nd 2021
Genres: Magical Realism, New Adult

Synopsis:

What’s a girl to do when death is the worst and best thing that can happen to her?

Lily cares for three things above all else: nature, her father, and her best friend, Caiden.

Caiden isn’t the typical hot guy, but his eyes glow—sometimes literally—with a confidence and charm that make Lily’s heart flutter wildly.

When she kisses him for the first time, he disappears into a swirl of gold and silver that leaves her questioning her sanity.

Three months later, Caiden reappears to explain what happened and who he really is, but Lily is too angry to hear it.

She needs time to figure out her feelings, time she doesn’t have because she’s being hunted by death—Death Sentries who know the truth about her lineage and want her for gifts she doesn’t know she possesses. Those gifts in Death’s hands can shift the balance between life and death on Earth and cause mass destruction.

Now, Lily must protect herself against manipulative Sentries sent to capture her, decide if she can trust Caiden, and resist or give into the explosive attraction between them.

But when she learns the truth about Caiden and his original intent toward her, Lily’s head and heart go to war. Before long, she’s left to question if her life is worth protecting or if her father and the world are safer without her in it.

*For mature young adult readers and all ages above. 

Excerpt

Caiden yanked a light-blue sundress from a hanger. “I always liked you in this one.” He threw it over his shoulder and then reached for the belt of my robe.

I stepped back, my hands flying up in protest. “What are you doing?” 

“Suddenly shy?” His brows lifted. “You think I don’t know what you’ve got on under there? Your Tinkerbell favorites. Which I’ve seen on you. Not to mention, your bikini bares far more skin, and you wear it in public.” 

I stepped away from his reaching arms. “Well, everyone dresses like that at the beach. And when I changed in the same room with you in the past, you were always distracted. Watching TV or reading. It’s not like you were interested.” Or had he been, and I was too naïve to notice? 

He closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Does this work for you?” Before I could respond, he said, “Come now. If I’m to have you back before your father wakes, we need to get moving.” 

I couldn’t even comprehend how he could take us to the Realm of Life and have me back home before sunrise. Part of me thought this was a dream and I would wake in the morning to Caiden still being gone. 

I glanced at the clock. 10:13 p.m. Here goes nothing. I tossed the robe to the floor, yanked the dress from Caiden’s shoulder, pulled it on, and fluffed my hair while sliding my feet into a pair of sandals. 

“Perfect,” Caiden said, surprising me. I glanced at his face. 

His eyes were wide and glowing with intense color. 

“You looked?” I squealed, his turquoise orbs growing brighter. “And your eyes…” 

He smirked. “I always look.” 

I folded my arms, about to huff, “You what!” when his entire body shimmered with gold.

“It’s everywhere.” I pointed to his arm and then his face. I considered lifting his blue shirt to see if it covered his stomach, too. 

“Does it frighten you?” he asked, in the same nervous tone as earlier. 

“Why would I be frightened? I like it.” I couldn’t stop myself from caressing his arm. The texture was smooth but fuzzy, like static energy coated his skin. He twitched and clutched my hands. 

“We should go,” he said, his voice suddenly husky.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Tara Gallina is the author of the NA romance The Forever Series, and the YA retelling Fated to Die. She writes and reads romance in a variety of genres but has a soft spot for retellings.

She believes in fairies, true love, and happily ever after. When she's not writing, she loves to visit gardens, European castles, and Caribbean beaches. She's passionate about interior design, obsessed with throw pillows, is addicted to vinegar, favors the color pink, and only drinks wine that tastes like melted sugar.

She grew up in a small town by the beach but soon after moved to Orlando, Florida with her patient hubs, two older sons, and two fur-babies. With local theme parks like Disney World and Harry Potter, it's no wonder her life is filled with fantasy and make believe.

Daily needs: sunshine, laughter, morning coffee, family.
Daily wants: castle, English accent, princess hair, anti-age venom.

Connect:

https://www.taragallina.com/

https://www.facebook.com/authortaragallina/

https://www.instagram.com/tagallina/

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/tara-gallina

https://twitter.com/taragallina

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18887586.Tara_Gallina