Spotlight: Shy Girls Can’t Date Billionaires by Milly Rose

Publication date: September 5th 2022
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Young Adult

I never existed until the wrong guy took notice...

I was born shy. And near him, I fall apart. No wonder he can’t stand the sight of me.

After a fire destroys our home, my family is taken in by a billionaire tycoon. His mansion has countless bedrooms, yet my room is next door to his son, Thomas Ashworth III. Yes, he’s as pompous as the name suggests. And, for some reason, he hates my guts.

Even though his arrogance drives me crazy, his chiseled features turn me into a stammering, awkward mess. I hate being stuck with someone I can’t stand. And when he does something unexpectedly kind, it confuses my heart.

When I bump into him in the middle of the night, I’d never guess it lead to us sharing secrets.

He’s impossible to get out of my head. But he wouldn’t consider dating someone like me. Would he?

You will love Christie and Ash. They are stuck together in forced proximity, becoming practically roommates. He is a billionaire, alpha male type who is learning to love. She is the new girl in school, dealing with past trauma. Together they will go from enemies to lovers in an adorable young adult romance.

Excerpt

"Hi," Thomas says, folding his arms across his chest. "What's your first class?"

I stare at him as bags pull under my eyes. My lack of sleep and the adrenaline from panicking have taken their toll.

He unfolds his arms and tilts his head. "What's up?" he asks.

I smooth my clammy palms over my blazer and fidget in my shoes.

"I told you, you don't need to panic," Thomas says, stepping closer to me. "This school is a piece of cake."

I run a hand over my hair and turn my face away from him. I'm gonna lose it again. My insides contort with another urge to launch over a toilet bowl.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asks, placing a hand on my arm.

I jolt in surprise.

He removes his hand and takes a step back. "Sorry," he says. 

I look away. "It's okay."

Thomas smiles. "Glad you got your voice back." 

I blush, and mumble, "Me too."

"Why do you look so freaked out?" he asks. "They showed you where to go, didn't they?"

I shake my head. "Not exactly."

"What happened when I left? Ms. Thornesmith usually handles everything, so I figured you wouldn't have an issue."

I fidget in my shoes again and turn my head in the other direction, staring at the closed bathroom door.

"A girl offered to show me around. Somewhere along the way, we kinda parted ways... I don't have my schedule, and I don't know where I'm going." Huffing, I pause my ramble to throw my arms in the air. "I don't know what classes I have... and I'm just lost again, like usual."

"Don't sweat it," he says. "I'll take you back to admin, and we'll get you a new schedule. Then I'll show you around."

I cross my arms and let out a tired, "Humph."

"What?"

"You'll show me around?" I say, looking at the floor. It is as confrontational as I get. It's shocking the words have come out of my mouth.

I doubt he'd help me. Why would he?

"Christie, you need to know where you're going. I'll show you where to find your classrooms. It's not a big deal."

"It was a big deal earlier," I say.

It's baffling that I'm continuing with this conversation.

"Hey, I'm sorry," he says, taking another step back. "My parents kind of threw this on me. I already had plans for this morning that I needed to follow through on."

"Fine, whatever," I say, crossing my arms in frustration. "You could have at least told your parents or me that you couldn't show me around. If you had said you couldn't help me, my mom would have come with me." I pull my arms tighter across my midsection. "It'd be better than being alone."

"I'm sorry you felt alone," he says, taking a step forward. "But, be honest, you don't exactly enjoy my company. I assumed you'd be relieved when I left."

His words surprised me. I look up to meet his eyes, finding them filled with sincerity.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

He puffs a laugh and slides his hand into his trouser pockets. "Don't act like you don't hate when I'm around."

I place a hand over my heart. "Me?"

"You're always judging me."

"I haven't said anything bad to you."

A nervous laugh seeps out of him. "You don't have to say it. It's in your eyes. I know you can't stand me."

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About the Author

Milly Rose is an animal-loving romance enthusiast with a swoon-inducing book formula. Shy girl + hot guy + first kisses. Her YA sweet romance books will have you falling in love every instalment. Milly Rose is the quintessential shy girl, who you can contact via her mailing list and reply to her monthly email blasts! Milly spends her days vying for her cat’s affection, dreaming up her next book boyfriend, and writing a fun meet-cute under candlelight with a lovely brewed cup of tea.

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Follow along on Instagram + Tiktok @shy.author.milly.rose

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Spotlight: Out of the Ashes by Samantha Grosser

Publication date: August 4th 2022
Genres: Adult, Historical

Amid the ruins of the Second World War, an illegal and tentative relationship begins.

England 1944. As Allied forces battle their way through Europe, German prisoners of war are sent to camps all over England. In a sleepy Somerset village, Clare is still grieving for her husband when the first prisoners arrive.

As the men start working on the farm, it isn’t long before she finds herself face to face with the enemy who made her a widow. Hating them all, she avoids them as best as she can. But when one of them saves a young child’s life, she is forced to reconsider. As an unexpected and illicit connection develops between them, her loyalties are stretched to the limit.

Their secret doesn’t last. Shunned by family and friends for illegal fraternisation with the enemy, Clare risks losing all she has. Then long-held secrets are brought to light and she must make an impossible choice.

In a world that has changed beyond recognition, can they find a way to build a future together, or will their happiness be destroyed by the burdens of the past?

Excerpt

She sat at the table, numb. She should have sweet tea, she thought, remembering it was supposed to be good for shock, but she was unable to bring herself to make the effort and the stove remained blank and unlit. She waited, expecting the numbness to pass and the pain of the grief to take over, but there was nothing. Her body felt as though it belonged to someone else, and her thoughts drifted, hazy and unformed. What was wrong with her? She had heard of other women collapsing with such news, weeping and hysterical. Why did she feel so empty? 

She laid the telegram on the table and straightened it out against the tablecloth, letting her eyes wander over the brief impersonal notice again, Walter’s death contained within it. How could so few words hold such momentous news? A letter would follow, it said. But really, what more was there to say? She would never hear her husband’s voice again, nor hold him in her arms. Their son no longer had a father.

She let out a breath, unaware she had been holding it, and feeling began at last to creep through her veins, a hollow in her guts. She placed her hand on top of the telegram, covering the words. She had always known, she thought. Right from the beginning when he told her he was going she had known, and she had spent all her tears and anger then in bitter fights and cruel words she had regretted ever since. Now she would never have a chance to make up for saying them. 

The memory of the last time she saw him flickered through her thoughts – the sadness in his eyes as he turned to walk away from her along the platform with the kitbag on his shoulder, a stranger in his uniform. She had watched him mount the carriage steps, squeezed his hand a final time, until with a hiss of steam and a whistle he was gone. She had known even then they would not meet again.

A dog’s bark outside in the yard roused her from her thoughts and she lifted her head towards the noise. The clock on the mantelpiece struck the half-hour. Soon Eric would be home and she would have to tell him that his father was dead. She shuddered at the thought of it and sighed, tracing the words on the telegram with her fingertips as though she might feel Walter’s presence within them – his warmth, his kindness, his laughter. The hollow inside her began to fill with pain, and her vision blurred with sudden tears. She pressed her hand against the sheet of paper under her palm. She would have to tell Walter’s mother too, she remembered then, and his sister and her husband, everyone else in the village. She would have to say it aloud. 

Walter is dead.

She wrapped her thoughts around the words and tried to roll them on her tongue, but her mouth refused to form the sounds. Her breath began to catch in her chest and as she wiped at her face where the tears had started to fall, she cast a glance towards the door. She wasn’t sure if she could face it. It was the thought that she must say the words to others that finally broke her defences. Lowering her face into her hands, she began to weep at last.

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About the Author

Samantha Grosser is a very British author who doesn’t function without tea. Having spent many years teaching English in Asia and Australia, she has now made her home on the sunny beaches of Sydney, Australia, where she lives with her husband, teenaged son, and a very small dog called Livvy.

She is the author of Another Time and Place, The Officer’s Affair, The King James Men, and the historical fantasy series Web of Witches. When she isn’t writing or reading, (which isn’t often) you can find her either doing yoga, going for long walks, or watching old movies.

You can find out more at samgrosserbooks.com

Connect:

https://www.samgrosserbooks.com/

https://www.pinterest.ca/grosser0312/

https://twitter.com/SamanthaGrosser

https://sendfox.com/samgrosserbooksnewsletter

https://www.instagram.com/samgrosserbooks/

https://www.facebook.com/samgrosserbooks

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4492009.Samantha_Grosser

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Spotlight: A Hate Like This by Whitney Dineen & Melanie Summers

Release Date: September 8

A Hate Like This (A Gamble on Love Mom Com, Book 2)

Single mother Moira Bishop hates when her family interferes in her love life. If life as a young widow isn’t hard enough, just add three boys, a slew of unruly pets, and ownership of Gamble Alaska’s only diner. The last thing she needs is a man to look after too.

Entertainment lawyer to the stars Ethan Caplan hates his clients. There’s only so much coddling and placating a man can do in a lifetime. He’s finally decided he’s had enough, so he escapes to the tiny no-horse town of Gamble to work on the novel he’s always wanted to write.

Positive that Alaska will be distraction-free, Ethan’s sure he can pen a bestselling legal novel. That is until he lays his eyes on Moira Bishop. Suddenly he finds himself having five meals a day at the diner, just so he can talk to her for a few minutes.

When Moira’s son wins tickets to the Galaxy Studio Theme Park in L.A., Ethan jumps at the chance to play host to the family. He’s sure he can win her over by showing her how glamorous life could be with him. With the help of his friends, he plans the date to end all dates, hoping one incredible night will change her mind about giving love a second chance.

Will Moira open her heart to Ethan? Will Ethan do what it takes to prove that he can be the man Moira and her boys need in their lives? Will little Colton be tall enough to ride the Galactic Mindbender?

Find out in the deliciously fun second installment in the Gamble on Love Momcom series.

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About the Author

Whitney Dineen is a rock star in her own head. While delusional about her singing abilities, there’s been a plethora of validation that she’s a fairly decent author (AMAZING!!!). After winning many writing awards and selling nearly a kabillion books (math may not be her forte, either), she’s decided to let the voices in her head say whatever they want (sorry, Mom). She also won a fourth-place ribbon in a fifth-grade swim meet in backstroke. So, there’s that.

Whitney loves to play with her kids (a.k.a. dazzle them with her amazing flossing abilities), bake stuff, eat stuff, and write books for people who “get” her. She thinks french fries are the perfect food and Mrs. Roper is her spirit animal.

Connect:
https://whitneydineen.com/
https://twitter.com/whitneydineen
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8145525.Whitney_Dineen
https://www.instagram.com/whitneydineenauthor/
https://www.facebook.com/Whitney-Dineen-Author-11687019412/

Melanie Summers also writes steamy romance as MJ Summers.

I got SUPER lucky and my first novel, Break in Two, a steamy contemporary romance cracked the Top 10 Paid on Amazon in both the UK and Canada, and the top 50 Paid in the USA. My Full Hearts Series was then picked up by both Piatkus Entice (a division of Hachette UK) and HarperCollins Canada.

My first three books have been translated into Czech and Slovak by EuroMedia. Since 2013, I've written and published sixteen novels and three novellas (and counting). I've sold over a quarter of a million books around the globe, and received two Bronze Medals at the Readers’ Favorite Award in the Chick Lit Category for The Royal Treatment (2018) and Whisked Away (2019), and one Silver Medal at the Readers' Favorite Awards in the Women's Fiction Category for The After Wife (2019).

Not bad for a newbie, eh?

I'm from Edmonton, Canada, where I live with my taller half, our three 'spirited' children (such a nice word to describe the chaos, no?). We also share our home with the cuddliest no-eyed dog ever, Lucy, and a furry Cuban dictator named Nelson. When I'm not writing, I love reading (obviously), snuggling up on the couch with the gang for movie night (which would not be complete without lots of popcorn and milkshakes), and long walks in the woods near my house.

I also spend a lot more time thinking about doing yoga than actually doing it, which is why any authorized photos of me are taken ‘from above’.

Oh, and I also love shutting down restaurants with my girlfriends. Well, not literally shutting them down, like calling the health inspector or something. More like just staying until they turn the lights off.

Connect:
https://mjsummersbooks.wordpress.com/
https://twitter.com/mjsummersbooks
https://www.instagram.com/mj_summers_author/
https://www.facebook.com/MJSummersAuthorPage
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17105602.Melanie_Summers

Spotlight: The Love of My Next Life by Brit Benson

Release Date: September 8

I calmed his demons.

He created mine.

Macon Davis.

My best friend’s brother.

My tormentor.

My least favorite person.

Pothead. Delinquent.

A careless, directionless loser.

That’s what I used to believe,

but I didn’t really know him.

And when I finally saw him,

it was the best and worst thing to ever happen to me.

We burned hot and fast.

Passion. Anger. Love. Pain.

We were reckless. Naive.

We were doomed from the start.

When I finally saw Macon Davis for who he was,

We both went down in the flames.

***

The Love of My Next Life is part one of a duet.

It is just as much a love story as it is a tale of ruin.

While the duet will end with an HEA, book one does not.

Book two is set to release in October 2022.

The Love of My Next Life will release into KU on 9/8.

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Meet Brit Benson:

Brit Benson writes romance novels that are sassy, sexy, and sweet.When she’s not dreaming up her next swoony book boyfriend and fierce book bestie, she’s reading. When she’s not reading, she’s probably marathoning a Netflix series or wandering aimlessly up and down the aisles in Homegoods.Brit currently resides somewhere near the Blue Ridge Parkway with her husband, daughters, and dogs.

Connect with Brit Benson:

https://linktr.ee/authorbritbenson 

Cover Reveal: Tricked in October by Starla DeKruyf

(Pineridge, #2)
Publication date: October 25th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

In this best-friends-to-lovers romance, mistaken identity leads to a Halloween hook-up that might not be so mistaken after all.

After losing her husband last winter, the thought of hosting a Halloween couples costume party is the furthest thing from Kelsey O’Henry’s mind. Besides raising three young children, managing O’Henry’s Bar and Grill, and caring for her alcoholic mother, she has more important things to worry about. Like the stack of unpaid business loans that threaten the bar’s existence. As well as her newfound feelings she’s developed for her best guy friend.

Davis Vance is tired of being followed around by cameras. He misses the days before he and his twin brother became “Renovation Dudes”—hosts of an HGTV show. When Davis learns Kelsey could lose the bar at the end of the fall season, he sees it as an opportunity to not only help his friend, but as a way out of renewing his HGTV contract.

There’s just one problem—lately Davis’s feelings for Kelsey have been less friendly and more romantic. And on the night of the bar’s Halloween party, both Kelsey and Davis can no longer ignore their desires. Will their passionate evening be a one-night stand—only a flicker of heat during the crisp autumn, or will she risk her pride and accept his help?

About the Author

Starla DeKruyf started writing when she still had words left to say and everyone stopped listening. Her love of romance novels began when she borrowed her friend’s copy of Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume and kept it hidden from her mom. When she’s not slinging coffee, volunteering with youth, or taxiing her kids around, you can find her jamming out to her playlists and writing her next swoony romance, usually by hand. She lives in Bend, Oregon, with her husband, three children, their English Mastiff, and a rescue pup.

Connect:
https://twitter.com/starla_writes
https://www.instagram.com/starlawrites/
https://www.facebook.com/authorstarla.dekruyf.58/
https://starlawrites.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21582420.Starla_DeKruyf

Spotlight: Welcome To Visanthe by L.M. Sanguinette

Publication date: September 2nd 2022
Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

THE SHADOWS HAVE AWAKENED…

Raised on a small unassuming island in the Caribbean, with the kind of sleepy town lifestyle better suited to old fishermen than fiery young troublemakers, Savara believes she has her world all figured out—and hates it. Yet, on her eighteenth birthday—the anniversary of her parents’ death—she wakes up to find the only world she has ever known might have all been a lie.

An unexpected death and the appearance of a mysterious off-worlder force Savara to question everything she has ever known as she and Jasper—her “only adventurous in books” best friend—are thrust into a new world, faced with a task that will not only determine their fates, but the fate of an entire nation. The shadows of a long-forgotten past have awakened with a thirst for blood. Will she be able to stop them from devouring everything in their path? Or will she fall victim to her own demons?

Join them on their journey to a world of elemental magic, where the lines of good and evil have been distorted, and truth is most often paid for in blood.

Welcome to Visanthe.

Excerpt

“Don’t get me wrong,” Jasper began, though it pained him to speak too much. “I’m,” he considered his choice of words. “Glad, I guess, that you’re trusting me with all of this, but I don’t understand. We aren’t friends, and you know this. So why?”

Griffin sighed. “The world is shifting. Spirits that have long slept are waking up, and part of it is because of her. Her soul belongs to those spirits.”

“If any harm comes to her—”

“I am seeing to it that it doesn’t,” Griffin interrupted. “But I will need your help.” He pulled out a book from under his cloak and rested it on Jasper’s bed. “You like to read, I gather. Something we have in common.”

Jasper’s eyes widened as he stared at the ornate, leather-bound book beside him. “Where did you get this?” he asked, recognising it as a twin to the volume he’d taken from Hyrum. “And what do you want from me?”

“In my tent, there is a library. All the questions you have about this world, these people, you will find the answers you seek in these books. They’re yours, on one condition.”

Of course, with Griffin, there were always conditions.

“In that collection, there are a series of journals written in an ancient text that few alive can even begin to grasp. Brass tells me you might be able to read them. My father was in the process of translating them before he died.” Griffin turned away as he mentioned his father, but Jasper caught a glimpse of the soft frown on his face. If he didn’t think him an arrogant, manipulative dick, he might have even felt sorry for him. He was happy to know that everyone, even Griffin, had someone who ruffled their feathers.

Even before he took hold of the book, he knew what it was. Everything from the feel of the embossed, worn leather to the elegant, handwritten, ink-splotched flourishes that lined the pages. Jasper’s mind had already set itself to figuring out where Griffin had found it. He looked up to ask why, but Griffin gazed down at him with deep, sorrowful eyes, silencing all questions. Jasper couldn’t possibly comprehend the pain Griffin felt but he understood the determination. Whatever was in these pages was important. His task was important.

“Will this help her?” Jasper asked, worried by the way Griffin’s tone had softened. He’d unconsciously stopped on a page with a picture of the divination symbol scrawled across the top righthand corner and sprawling letters of a different tongue trailing down the rest of the page.

“I believe so,” Griffin replied, but Jasper knew he wasn’t entirely sure about that either.

Jasper sighed. “Fine.”

Griffin dipped his head tentatively and made for the door, stopping at the threshold. He turned back to Jasper hesitantly.

“You love her,” he said softly. Jasper flared his nostrils and huffed, but Griffin must have accepted this as an answer. “That’s good. She’ll need it. It just might be the thing that saves her.” He bowed his head and set off into the dawn, leaving Jasper alone with his thoughts.

He didn’t know how to interpret Griffin’s last words. It seemed they’d made a truce, for now, and that Griffin wasn’t interested in Savara romantically so much as militaristically. At least that meant he wasn’t a threat, but it also meant that he was willing to put her in danger. Jasper couldn’t say which he preferred. Savara was more than capable of getting herself into trouble. She didn’t need Griffin to help her along.

Jasper had never prayed before. He’d never been to church, and he wasn’t fond of the idea of some grand entity watching over everyone’s suffering for its own entertainment. Despite this, he rested the book on the bedside table, clasped his hands, and began to pray.

“I’ve never asked for your help before. Hopefully, that means I’m long overdue a favour. I don’t even know if you’re listening, but just in case you are, please watch over her. She has no idea what she’s gotten herself into. And though I am going to protect her—you know I’d give my life for her—I just don’t know if I’ll be enough. I’m worried about what this world has in store for us… for everyone. Please, whoever you are, wherever you may be. Please watch over us all…”

Jasper had never thought much of his own voice. It wasn’t loud or imposing. It wasn’t a voice that people usually paid any attention to. He’d gotten used to people not listening to him

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About the Author

L. M. Sanguinette was born on a small island in the Caribbean, where the palm trees watched over her like giants and the sea crept up to her feet to say "hello". Nowadays she can be found in one of the many hidden coffee shops of Madrid conversing with the spirits of the old city.

Connect:

https://www.instagram.com/author_lmsanguinette/

https://www.tiktok.com/@lmsanguinette

https://lmsanguinette.wordpress.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22424806.L_M_Sanguinette

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