Spotlight: His to Defend by Sharon C. Cooper

HIS TO DEFEND by Sharon C. Cooper (on-sale Dec.28, Harlequin Romantic Suspense): A romantic reunion…threatened by their past. Amina Kelly broke Sergeant Maxwell Layton's heart when she married his best friend. But the detective never forgot her…or the sizzling attraction they never acted on. Years later, while Maxwell and Amina work together to find her ex's killer, Maxwell finds his desire for the nurse stronger than ever. As he puts his life on the line to keep Amina safe, Maxwell realizes that the greatest risk of all might be to his heart. 

Excerpt

“Do you think the break-in is connected to the mugging?” Amina asked.

Maxwell’s eyebrows shot up. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought she was a mind reader. Earlier, when he considered the two incidences might’ve been connected, he hadn’t planned to say anything to her just yet. But in case they were, he needed to do some digging. What he didn’t want to do was scare her, but he also wanted her to be on alert.

“Yes,” he said honestly. “It’s too much of a coincidence. I’m even wondering if that botched mugging wasn’t an attempted kidnapping.”

Her hand went to her chest. “If you’re trying to scare me, it’s working.”

“Sweetheart, the last thing I want to do is scare you, but something is going on. Until we figure out what, I think you should stay here. In the meantime, can you think of anything you have that someone might want? A family heirloom? Gold? Bonds? A limited-edition book? Anything?”

“No, nothing like that. I have a pair of diamond earrings that my parents gave me when I graduated from high school.”

“I might be way off with this next question, but I have to ask. Do you have anything of Jeremy’s?”

She frowned. “Not that I can think of—why?”

“I don’t know. I might be way off, but I wonder if any of this has to do with his murder?” Maxwell wiped his hands and grabbed his cell phone off the counter. About a half an hour ago, Danny had texted him a still shot of the suspect.

Maxwell held up his phone to her. “Do you recognize this guy?”

Amina stared at the photo for a few minutes. The quality wasn’t great, and much of the man’s face was hard to make out, but she might know him.

She eventually shook her head. “He doesn’t look familiar. Should I know him? Who is he?”

“The suspected killer.”

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About the Author

Award-winning and bestselling author, Sharon C. Cooper loves anything that involves romance with a happily-ever-after, whether in books, movies, or real life. Sharon writes contemporary romance, as well as romantic suspense and enjoys rainy days, carpet picnics, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She’s been nominated for numerous awards and is the recipient of an Emma Award for Romantic Suspense of the Year 2015 (Truth or Consequences), Emma Award - Interracial Romance of the Year 2015 (All You’ll Ever Need), and BRAB (book club) Award -Breakout Author of the Year 2014. When Sharon is not writing or working, she’s hanging out with her amazing husband, doing volunteer work or reading a good book (a romance of course). To read more about Sharon and her novels, visit www.sharoncooper.net

Spotlight: The Journey by Kelsey Ketch

(Death Island, #1)
Publication date: November 25th 2020
Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, New Adult

Synopsis:

With her family name tainted by her great-grandfather’s crimes, Meriden Cummings could only dream of fleeing her oppressive life. Then she unearthed a piece of tanned skin, and her blood revealed an ancient map adorned with Mayan glyphs, launching her on the journey of a lifetime. However, she finds herself bound to the map, and there is a cost to her newfound freedom. One that will torment her mind as well as her soul.

After being shanghaied by pirates, Gregory Wilson escapes to a small English village where he runs into an obnoxious auburn-haired beauty. When he learns she is about to set sail on dangerous waters, he signs up to join her crew, hoping to defend her from the pirates seeking her great-grandfather’s treasure. But, will he be able to protect her from the ghost that haunts her or the curse running through her veins?

Excerpt

[Meriden]

Tucker barked at something that had recently washed up onto the shore. Curious, I walked toward the obvious tangled mess. “What do you have there?”

I pushed him aside and grabbed the green and grey mass. I peeled off the debris and seaweed and rinsed the mud and sand off in the Mouth of the Severn. From the mess appeared an object, which I could only describe as an elaborate golden coin, about four inches in diameter. Yet, the slightest touch caused three outer rings of glyphs—similar to the ones painted on the map—to rotate around a sitting man with a long headdress, bowl, and club. His face profiled, and his legs crossed. The most outer ring consisted of nineteen complicated glyphs, including an eagle’s head, a goat-like face, and a demon face; the middle ring held twenty square glyphs with three curls underneath, some depicting things like hands, skulls, and faces; and the innermost ring had a series of dots and lines—much like Roman numerals—that counted up to thirteen. On the other side of the coin, the same skeletal figure from the map sat in the center while nine teetered glyphs were spaced out along the outer rings—five on the outer ring and four in the middle. Among the glyphs of the middle ring were four arrows pointing in what I would call the cardinal directions. Overlapping the middle and inner rings were three large arrows. Much like a compass pointing north, east, and west. And to the south, two skulls faced each other, leaving a microscopic gap.

My mind spun with disbelief. This had to be related to Death Island. I was sure of it. But how? And where did it come from? How did it get here?

The breeze carried my hair off my shoulder, a shiver ran down my spine, and goose bumps unraveled across my arms when I sensed a presence nearby. I turned to spy a man as pale as ash with a beard as white as snow watching me. Black veins stretched throughout his exposed flesh. His eyes nothing but two black pieces of coal. The mere sight of him made me jump in my own skin, nearly causing me to drop the Mayan coin as I gasped in fright. In an attempt to regain my composure, I took my eyes off the man for a second to steady myself, only for them to fall back on the gardener, or ghost, I met at the Railings’ home.

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About the Author

Kelsey Ketch is a young-adult/new-adult author, who works as a Wildlife Biologist and Data Analyst. During her free time, she can often be found working on her latest work in progress. She also enjoys history, mythology, traveling, and reading.

Connect:

https://kelseyketch.com/

https://www.instagram.com/kelseyketch/

https://www.facebook.com/KelseyKetch/

https://twitter.com/kelseyketch

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7104482.Kelsey_Ketch

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Spotlight: Undercover K-9 Cowboy by Addison Fox

UNDERCOVER K-9 COWBOY by Addison Fox (on-sale Jan.25, Harlequin Romantic Suspense): A by-the-book Fed goes rogue for justice. To stop the drug epidemic ravaging Midnight Pass, FBI agent Ryder Durant reluctantly takes matters into his own hands. Poised to set a trap at Reynolds Station, he has to contend with Arden Reynolds—who prefers Ryder's K-9 to the Fed protecting her family. As Ryder and Arden spar, embers spring into flame. And those flames are as dangerous as the crime ring lurking too close to home…

Excerpt

“You want answers?”

“I do.” Arden said.

“Then I want a few of my own first.”

Although she didn’t say anything, anticipation lit her blue eyes. It surprised him how that struck somewhere low in his gut. Like he was enjoying getting a reaction—any reaction—from her.

“You don’t like me very much, and I’d like to know why.”

That small light winked out, fading away as if it had never been. “I have nothing against you.”

“I’d say you do. You have since the first time we met.” Ryder tilted his head toward the wide-open window beside them. “Right out there on Main Street.”

He remembered the moment well. It had been a pretty fall day and he’d tied Murphy up outside the coffee shop to bask in the sun for a few minutes while he ran in to snag a quick cup. The night before, he’d run his first op since coming to Midnight Pass and was pretty much subsisting on fumes. He’d come back out to find Arden, expectantly waiting for him, full of barely veiled insult and clear irritation that he’d left his dog outside.

“I wasn’t aware that Murphy was a working dog that day. I may have been a bit terse.”

“And the other night? At your place?”

“I—” She stopped, clearly considering her words. He was surprised to find that he had the patience to wait for whatever it was she had to say. “I don’t appreciate cocky arrogance.”

“You live on a ranch full of testosterone-fueled cowboys. And in a town full of the same. Surely you come up against a bit of cocky banter now and again?”

“That’s an excuse for it?”

“It’s a fact. I’d have thought you’d be used to it by now.”

“It doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Her tone was prim and her already strong, fit posture stiffened a few more degrees north.

Ryder was good at his job because he knew how to read people. It was also what made him a good K-9 handler. He paid attention and he read situations before reacting. And every instinct he possessed read this one as arising from something that had specifically happened to her.

With someone who had hurt her.

Someone, Ryder suspected, who had been cocky and arrogant and likely unkind to her.

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About the Author

Addison Fox is a lifelong romance reader, addicted to happy-ever-afters. She loves writing about romance as much as reading it. Addison lives in New York with an apartment full of books, a laptop that’s rarely out of sight and a wily beagle who keeps her running. You can find her at www.addisonfox.com, facebook.com/addisonfoxauthor or on Twitter (@addisonfox).

Spotlight: Snowbound with Her Mountain Cowboy by Patricia Johns

SNOWBOUND WITH HER MOUNTAIN COWBOY by Patricia Johns (on-sale Nov.30, Harlequin Heartwarming): A lost memory could mean a second chance! Mountain resort owner Angelina Cunningham has her hands full with a massive winter storm. Which is exactly when her ex-husband arrives, injured and suffering temporary amnesia. Ben King has always been her weakness. Though he doesn’t remember her, he’s still as charming and sweet as ever, and Angelina is falling for him all over again. But can their rekindled love outlast the storm and the return of their past mistakes?

Excerpt

“Angelina,” he said. “I sense there are some hard feelings between us. I mean, I don’t remember it, but you seem…uncomfortable with me.”

“It’s fine,” she said with a shake of her head.

“What did I do?” he asked. “Because I’m looking at you, and I see a beautiful, successful woman I’d be proud to be with. So…what happened with us?”

Her green gaze flicked over to meet his. “Your family happened.”

What had his father said? And perhaps expect some jealousy toward our family.

“What did they do?” he asked.

“They hated me.” She said it so matter-of-factly, with no emotion behind it.

“I find that hard to believe…” He smiled, hoping that she’d soften her stance there. “For what?”

“For being beneath the quality standard they set for you,” she said. “They wanted you to marry someone who came from a family equally well situated. I’m just a regular woman.”

“Not so regular…”

She’d achieved an awful lot to consider herself ordinary. And look at her! She drew every eye in a room.

“You’d be surprised.” She didn’t return his smile, and her gaze didn’t waver. This wasn’t a joke. He was inclined to believe her.

“So my family hated you, and we broke up?” he asked hesitantly.

“I got tired of trying to prove myself,” she said. “And I think you got tired of fighting for us. A man’s family is a part of him, Ben. Remember them or not, they formed you. They raised you. Their DNA flows through you. And I wasn’t acceptable.”

Ben felt her words spinning through his mind like that blinding snow outside. His family had been the cause of their divorce? Was that why his father had given him that warning—he saw Angelina as a threat?

“Why did I come here?” he asked.

Angelina shook her head. “I have no idea.”

“We didn’t have plans to…talk?” he asked. “Because I don’t know why else I’d be driving this way. Do I know anyone else here or have any business to take care of?”

Angelina shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I’m not a part of your life.”

“But you said we talked sometimes,” he said.

“We did,” she said.

“Maybe I wanted to talk again. You said we broke up? Maybe that was weighing on me.”

“Maybe.” She met his gaze. “I wouldn’t know, would I?” She was silent for a moment. “We always have held on to some feelings for each other. I won’t deny that. I think you regretted how things ended with us. But we aren’t friends. You can’t feel the way we did for each other, go through that kind of heartbreak and be friends afterward. It doesn’t work.”

No, he could see that. Knowing next to nothing about her, he’d felt drawn to this woman. And even now, knowing that nothing had worked between them, he still found himself wanting to keep her close.

“But I came here,” he said. “With a storm 

at my back, no less. That has to mean something. I feel absolutely certain that I was trying to reach…this place.”

As she looked at him, he could see that her resistance was up. She didn’t have his answers, and maybe he was asking too much of her to expect her to know why he’d come out here.

“Do you want me to have your clothes laundered tonight, or do you want to have them dry-cleaned?” she asked.

Right. She was backing away from the personal.

“I—” He shook his head. “I have no idea. Let’s try and wash them, I guess.”

She smiled faintly. “You were particular about your shirts. I should warn you.”

He thought about it for a moment. “I’m not right now. I wouldn’t mind having my own clothes back. Let’s see how it goes.”

“All right.” She turned toward the door.

He wanted to stop her, ask her more questions, convince her to stay awhile, but he could sense that wouldn’t be appropriate. Whatever they’d been, it was well in the past.

“Good night,” he called after her.

“Good night, Ben.” Her voice was soft, cutting off when the door shut behind her.

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About the Author

Patricia Johns writes from Alberta, Canada where she lives with her husband and son. She has her Honors BA in English Literature and writes for both Harlequin and Kensington books. She loves prairie skies and time with her family. 

Spotlight: Kiss of Karma by Louise Lennox

Keisha didn’t know agreeing to help her friend right a wrong would involve murder, robbery...and Richard, a handsome sheriff who poses a threat to her heart. She doesn’t want to let down her friends, but helping might come with a cost. Readers who love Kennedy Ryan and Nicole Snow will love Kiss of Karma by Louise Lennox, an enemies to lovers, older man, small town romance.

The Carolina Lowcountry is sexier, because the beautiful Kiawah Kisses rule the Sea Islands with strength, spice, and sass. This summer and fall, each friend will reconnect with a Gullah hometown hero and learn to love again. This is Keisha’s story…

Keisha Jordan is a good friend and an even better attorney. She will do anything for her tight knit group of girlfriends, the Kiawah Kisses. When her best friend Nicole asks her to help right a wrong committed against her family; she agrees. But, murder, robbery, and a devastatingly handsome older sheriff turn out to be more than she bargained for.

Keisha doesn't want to let the Kisses down; but she's determined to protect her heart.

Richard Grant has served as Kiawah Island’s local sheriff for over twenty years. It’s the family business. His grandfather and father served in the roles before him. The last thing he needs is some nosy attorney and her friends opening old cases and creating a stir around town. If the attorney wasn’t so beautiful he’d gladly escort her out of his town.

But she is… so he lets her be. But what will it cost his family's legacy if she stays?

Kiss of Karma, book 4 in the Kiawah Kisses Series, is a steamy, small town, contemporary romance featuring a strong, smart heroine and the older sexy hometown sheriff who fights for her heart. Download it today and get ready to fall in love with your next favorite book boyfriend.

Excerpt 

Copyright 2021 Louise Lennox

Big Bess warned the low country casts spells at night. 

Under Kiawah’s muggy moon, mosquitos bite, moss sighs, and men lie. I thought she was trying to keep us out of the swamps at night. Symone, Nicole, Tara, and I were twelve and relentless in our pursuit of adventure. Now, eighteen years later, I know exactly what she meant. For example, it doesn’t take Big Bess’s beloved juju to understand why this police officer stopped me. This is about more than a speeding violation. Everyone zips down Kiawah Coastal Highway. Fast is the only appropriate way to drive across it.

This man wants something else. He keeps slipping a look down to my dark thighs while he writes this ridiculous ticket… and I like it. When he speaks, his voice drips with need, while his posture screams authority. It’s almost enough to make me forget how annoyed I am at the present inconvenience.

“Ma’am, you know how fast you was going’?”

Though familiar sea island twang is enticing; I am not amused. Who the hell is he calling, ma’am? I’m only thirty-five! Plus, I hate rhetorical questions. When dealing with law enforcement, that is nothing more than trick bags. No one knows how fast they are going while driving. Anything I say will put me directly in the speeding category.

I roll my eyes. “I was going fast enough to get where I’m going on time.” At least I was.

Nicole’s aunt Pearl kept me longer than I thought she would with her talk of food, death and murder plots. The bombshells she dropped tonight make me want to board a flight back to San Francisco ASAP. But I promised Symone I’d be here for her debut as The Haint’s new owner at the Christmas Blues Festival tonight. I never break a promise. I’m also never late, and I’m sure Tara and Nicole are wondering where I am.

Sighing, I inspect Sheriff too damn serious for the first time. When my eyes roam from the rock-hard abs pressing against his lame cotton uniform shirt to his deep and twinkling eyes, I silently admit he’s fine… but old as shit. 

Curly salt and pepper hair bounce off his jet-black skin in the moonlight. He’s tall, easily over six feet, and filling out that ugly brown sheriff’s uniform with perfectly produced muscles. My guess is that he spends more time in the gym than between a soft pair of sugar-scrubbed thighs. Hence his fascination with mine. Maybe his thirst will get me out of this speed trap. I shift my body to give him a better view of my legs. It’s worth a shot.

He clears his throat. “Ma’am, you aren’t going anywhere driving down my highways twenty miles over the speed limit. You should be glad I’m not giving you a reckless driving violation.”

I grip the steering wheel tighter. When pulled over, I never take my hands off ten and two. I don’t trust the police for two reasons. One, they kill Black people down here for sport. Two, I’m a lawyer and I know better. My hands stay where a cop can see them at all times. After a deep breath, I return my attention to his exquisitely chiseled jaw.

“I’m supposed to be grateful?” My voice rises. “You’re still giving me a ticket. I don’t even live here! Tell me, officer, how many traffic stops do you need to make before you can buy yourself a new police cruiser?”

Ignoring my snide remark, he tears off the ticket and hands it out for me to take it. I snatch it from his hand and attempt to turn away, but he leans down until I have no choice but to look up. His perfect face is now in the open window of my BMW i8. I keep this car at my vacation home in Kiawah. It’s impractical in San Francisco because there are no open roads to fly down. There are also no nineties era Denzel look-alike cops to stop me.

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About Louise Lennox 

Contemporary romance Author Louise Lennox is a hopeful romantic writing steamy romances full of heart and healing.

A Spelman College and Georgetown University graduate, Louise provides women with diverse and meaningful representation in romance novel pages. Not seeing enough women like herself headlining positive love stories, she launched #HappyBlackRomance; a community of readers and writers committed to the creation and sharing of positive romance stories featuring Black heroines.

Louise Lennox plots highlight the joys of Black relationships across the diaspora; pushing readers from all cultural backgrounds to admire them for their strength and downright sexiness. In her novels sparks always fly; the sex amazes; and the characters always leave the world better than they found it through their love.

When she’s not writing, Louise is enjoying her work as a school leader, wife, and mother of the two cutest dragons to ever walk the earth!

To learn more about #HappyBlackRomance and to score a free book or two, check out her website www.lovelouiselennox.com.

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Spotlight: Double Negative by Susan Marshall

Published by: Evernight Teen
Publication date: November 12th 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Injured competitive swimmer Reece never wanted to be Vice Prez of West Hill High. It was her brother Jamie’s idea, just something to do until she could get back into the pool.

She knew that Jamie—who led his campaign with a striptease “election speech”—would be a complete “President Dumbass.” But Reece didn’t foresee that she’d fall hard for Jamie’s Student Council rival, Zain.

Zain is hot and intense, plus an amputee and a basketball star. Between Zain’s disability and Reece’s surgery, they have their challenges, but that deepens their connection—until he drops a bombshell about his accident. Suddenly, everything important to Reece starts to implode.

Struggling with issues of family loyalty, secrets, and scars, Reece must decide if real relationships are worth the heartache.

Excerpt

The atmosphere in the auditorium was near electric. The students were gobbling up the performance, knowing Jamie’s “speech” could be stopped at any second. As he started to lower his swimsuit, DiFran suddenly—finally—stomped onstage. I momentarily covered my eyes with my good hand, and when I peeked through my fingers, I exhaled in relief. His flesh-colored t-shirt was part of a unitard. No frontal nudity today, folks. 

Fists and jaw tightly clenched, DiFran leaned in and whispered insistently into Jamie’s ear. But like a pole dancer resisting the grand finale, Jamie shook him off. 

High-bun girl leaned forward as my brother turned ass backward to the audience. Large black letters were written across his butt—Free on the left cheek, Ice Cream on the right. High-bun girl— and pretty much the entire student body—went insane as the dance music morphed into a conga drumbeat. 

As Jamie thrust out one butt cheek, everyone yelled, “Free!” He pulsed out the other one to a refrain of, “Ice cream!” Even my gym teacher Ms. Walker started shouting along, while Jamie wiggled one cheek and then the other. “Free ice cream!” I gripped the armrest with my good hand. Very presidential. 

Moving to the speed of Jamie’s bum, the chanting accelerated to a fevered pitch. Riding an ice cream vendor bike, Dean blasted through the backstage curtain, skidding to a stop. He opened the cooler, pulled out a few boxes of cones, and lifted them up high like a trophy.
DiFran took center stage, waving his arms furiously, trying but failing to halt the deafening noise. 

“Are you quite done?” he huffed into the mic. Jamie, who was suddenly in his trunks and at his side, shook his head. “Wrap this up pronto,” DiFran spat. 

Jamie tilted the microphone toward his mouth as the auditorium quieted down. Here comes the big speech. Despite all the shenanigans, or maybe because of them, everyone seemed ready to listen. It was almost a dead silence when Jamie leaned in and spoke his first words, slowly emphasizing each letter. 

“For free ice cream, vote Jamie and Dean.” He paused. Everyone sat quietly, waiting for more. But instead, Dean ripped open boxes as Jamie reached over and started firing ice cream cones at the audience. Even though I was way out of range, I ducked. A mad scramble ensued. The bull had been released. 

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Paperback

About the Author

A lover of libraries, Susan obtained a Masters Degree in Library Science but found that she was too disorganized for that field. Instead, Susan worked at The Globe and Mail newspaper and then Seneca College. Four kids later, she decided to stay-at-home, spending her quiet moments indulging her love of writing.

The old adage is to "write what you know." In Double Negative, Susan channels her experience as a parent of a teen amputee and her misguided belief that she was once an athlete. The inspiration for NemeSIS was the complicated sister dynamic in Susan's estrogen fuelled household in Hamilton, Ontario. An avid reader, she loves e-books and falls asleep nightly to the soft glow, oblivious to what happened on the last page.

Susan lives in Toronto with her husband, three sons, a daughter, rescue dog Bean and Indy the cat.

Connect:

https://twitter.com/sueemarshall

http://www.susanmarshall.ca/

https://www.instagram.com/sueemarshall/

https://www.facebook.com/susanemarshall

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16296110.Susan_Marshall

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