Spotlight: In the Shadow of a Hoax by Maci Aurora

(Fareview Fairytales, #2)
Publication date: January 24th 2023
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

In the Kingdom of Kaloma, a woman is forced to rely on a man to “keep her” and is forbidden from maintaining anything of her own. It’s the law.

In the remote village of Sevens, at the northernmost point of the kingdom, there lives a family with four daughters and a son, toiling day in and day out together, hopeful a treaty with the boarding kingdom of Jast might change things.

When one daughter—at risk of being imprisoned for fighting back—hides away in the Whitling Woods. She stumbles upon a dying man and despite the risk to herself, chooses to save him. Only who he is has the power to change everything…

Tarley Fareview, idealistic and stubborn, does what she can to support herself in spite of an unjust Kaloma law. When she fights back after being attacked, she flees into the woods disguised as a boy. While in hiding, she discovers a dying man and must decide if she risks her life to save him. Unable to walk away, Tarley chooses to intervene and works to save the stranger, only little does she know that by doing so she’ll also risk the heart she promised herself she’d never give to anyone.

When the Crown Prince of Jast, Lachlan Nikolas—forced by the king to attend treaty negotiations with the kingdom of Kaloma in disguise—is attacked, his horse bolts, and they both careen over a cliff, falling to their deaths in a raging river below. Only, miracle of miracles, Lachlan doesn’t perish, and instead is given a second chance at life, but at a price. When he wakes, he’s not only been stripped of his clothes but also his identity. Saved by a strange woman—in a terrible disguise because she looks nothing like a boy—Lachlan must learn very quickly how to survive in a world where he isn’t a prince anymore and with zero skills other than his entitlement and his charm. Unsure who to trust, Lachlan must reinvent himself, learn how to survive, open his heart to discover the truth about worthiness, and discover what it means to sacrifice one’s self for true love.

Excerpt

It was nearing sunrise on the fifth day. The twilight teasing the flap of the tent. The birds were only beginning to sing, and though the music of the birds waking and the river beyond were usually her salve to get her moving, her eyes were so heavy, and her body weighted with exhaustion. Her mind and senses lulled toward sleep by the sound of Ollie’s clear breathing and the song of the birds, so she shut her eyes. 

Just for a moment, she told herself. Ollie’s safe. I’ll rest. Just for a moment, she thought and slipped into the rest of the darkness. 

“Tarley?”

She stretched her body, uncurling it, and basking in the gloriousness of warmth and rest. Her hand dropped against something unforgiving, her head pressed against a wall. She moaned, disoriented, and grabbed hold of the mound under her quilt trying to figure out what had crawled into bed with her. 

“I’ve always enjoyed a good fondling, but I prefer it being reciprocal.”

Tarley’s eyes snapped open at the foreign sound—a man’s voice with just the hint of an accent with which she wasn’t familiar. Skin. That’s what her eyes focused on. Lots of it. An arm. A shoulder. A scruffy jaw in need of a shave as she raised her gaze. Full lips arched with a smile, the bottom slightly fuller though the pronounced arches of the upper. He was grinning, and his eyes—a myriad of colors—were darkened with a ring of deep green at the edges. 

Realizing she was flush against him, holding him, Tarley jerked back, scrambling to the opposite side of the ten, only there wasn’t enough room to maneuver. She regretted the quick movement, her body protesting with aches and pains of not enough sleep. 

“Ollie. I–” She couldn’t meet his gaze. 

“You were asleep.”

Her cheeks heated realizing she’d been holding him in her sleep. Holding onto him the night she’d been trying to save him flashed in her mind reminding her she’d held him before. To save him, she snapped at her inner self. 

Her eyes danced across the quilt until she found the bravery to meet his gaze.

About the Author

Romance author.

Lover of stories.

Maci Aurora has been writing stories since she was a child. When she was eleven, she fell in love with reading Sunfire Historical Romances about girls who made a difference in their lives and still fell in love. In high school, a friend introduced her to Lavyrle Spencer and Judith McNaught, and from there, her writing journey was cemented in telling stories about love. Having already published many novels (all of which are threaded with romance as upper YA and New Adult titles) under the pen name, CL Walters, Maci Aurora wanted to write stories that offered the same attention to story and characters but with additional steam.

Maci writes in Hawaiʻi where she lives with her husband, their children, and their fur-babies.

Connect:
https://www.maciaurora.com/

https://www.instagram.com/maciaurora/

https://www.maciaurora.com/newsletter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: Owe Me One by Kay Cove

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Quinn is finally enjoying the view from the top in her executive office. Her new position as CMO of a billion-dollar tech company keeps her just busy enough to avoid the gut-wrenching guilt and regret she’s carried around for three years, since the loss of her mother. No one else will see the monster she sees in the mirror as long as she keeps her head down and buried in her work. No one that is until Cody Kartlin comes barreling into the picture, determined to earn her heart by proving that when it comes to high-powered careers—real men aren’t afraid to let a woman take the lead.

Cody’s only had one true love—football. After a career-ending injury, he never thought he’d feel that spark of life again—until he laid eyes on Quinn. His new life game plan immediately becomes a slow play for Quinn’s heart.

When Quinn’s new promotion threatens to send her overseas, Cody gallantly offers to help her stop the transfer by exploiting a company policy loophole. The agreement is simple—Cody marries Quinn, and Quinn just… owes Cody one. It’s not long before what started as paperwork starts feeling like a whole lot more, but right when Cody thinks he’s secured a future with the girl of his dreams, his old flame creeps back into the picture.

A second chance at his football career will force him to choose—the girl, or the game.

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Kay Cove writes contemporary romance novels that are sweet and steamy. She loves strong and witty heroines that aren’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with an alpha hero. Her favorite writing weapon of choice? Banter. 

Born in Colorado Springs, but raised all over (thanks military!), Kay Cove loves hiking on snow-capped mountains, blowing raspberries on her sons’ super pudgy baby bellies, and heated debates with her husband about topics such as the difference between turtles and tortoises, Marvel trivia, and most importantly—who misplaced the remote. 

Kay, a former HR professional (survivor), startup junkie, and former CEO of the teeniest, tiniest virtual assistant company, has been writing pretty much forever. She finally decided at age thirty to start writing the stories she loves to read and to actually share the novels she poured countless hours, tears, sweat, and coffee into.

Connect with the Author: Website | Instagram | Tiktok | Facebook | Twitter  

Spotlight: The Endgame by Bianca Borell

Genre: Sports Romance 

Every girl with a brother grows up with one fundamental rule: his best friend is off limits. That’s one rule she longs to break when he crashes into her life.

Amelie Weston has been taking the safe path for as long as she can remember. Not disappointing her parents by pursuing the career she wants. And not pursuing the guy she’s been crushing on.

But she’s tired of being the good girl.

Her brother’s best friend is pushing her to stop being a people pleaser and open the bakery of her dreams. Little does he know he’s also at the top of the list of her heart’s greatest desires... and he’s making himself impossible to resist.

Levi Kingston fully intends to become a legend on the field as one of the best players ever. He must stay focused and work relentlessly toward his goal. He doesn’t have time for distractions... until he meets his best friend’s sister, and his well-laid plan is challenged.

Bad timing, responsibilities, and loyalty to her brother keep them apart. But the connection between them only grows stronger. Their feelings become impossible to ignore, and the fight against them is pointless.

Will they take a chance on love? Or waste an opportunity for long-awaited happiness?

Buy on Amazon

About the Author

Bianca Borell is a contemporary romance author, voracious reader, nature lover, and unapologetic daydreamer. She spends her nights deciding between getting up to write or trying to silence the voices of her characters. The battle is never-ending.

She has a weakness for tormented characters, second chances, and happy endings.

She currently lives in Germany with her amazing husband and indulges in way too many pastries than she should.

For updates, news, and releases, be sure to visit Bianca’s official website at www.biancaborell.com

Connect with the Author: 

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Spotlight: Road to the Mansfield by Cb Laurence

Genre: Historical Mystery 

Three stories. One destination.

A swamp rat-turned lady, a hotshot southern attorney, and a small-town dreamer endure life’s cruel twists on the way to Hollywood’s swanky Mansfield Supper Club.

Louisiana, 1927. A brutal fate sweeps seventeen-year-old Francie Roubideaux from the Louisiana bayou to the iron rule of Miss Claire in New Orleans. She survives using her daddy’s wits and mama’s grace, but fickle fortune isn’t done with her yet….

Illinois, 1937. Rose Donovan’s dreary small-town life takes a turn when a New York City music man whisks her away to Hollywood. But soon she’s torn between addictive passion and another man’s arms…and more than Rose’s heart is on the line.

Georgia, 1936. A rising star on the Atlanta legal circuit, Beau Hartwell is the envy of every lawyer in the city…until his past desperately comes to call. Can big-city Beau handle backwoods justice, or will the case break more than his career?

In one fateful night, their worlds collide in ways no one saw coming… 

Excerpt

Summer 1927 

Alouette Parish, Louisiana

On the third night of the last full moon of summer, Françoise Rae Roubideaux stood poised to kill. Knee-deep in the warm freshwater of the bayou, her four-pronged gig raised over her shoulder, she aimed at a pair of red eyes the size of her baby brother’s belly button.

Thwack!  The barbed blades sliced through the back of the fat bullfrog and straight to the other side. Dat one’s for Mama. She prodded and peeled her catch from the spikes then dropped it in a feed sack with the others before yanking the drawstring tight. One more and she’d have enough to buy Mama the coughing herbs from Madame Bérengère and have a little money left over for the general store. 

Madame Bérengère loved frog legs almost as much as Daddy had. Every time Francie brought big, fat legs to trade, she’d say, “Francie, I declare! You da best frogger in all of Alouette Parish!”  

It was true, too. Daddy taught her how to catch frogs with her bare hands at only four years old. “You smarter den dat ol’ frog,” he’d say. She’d cried the first time she saw Daddy smash one’s head with a hammer then cut and clean the legs. “Dere born to die, cher.” By the time she turned six, she caught frogs all summer long—even during the daytime. 

Quiet as a dragonfly on the breeze, she crept along the bank in the shallow waters and thought about the good times with Daddy. 

When Mama didn’t need her to help around the house, or to clean and cook the fish Francie had caught for supper, she’d be with him. They’d check his traps for raccoon and mink to skin and sell. They’d catch crawfish, shrimp, and crappie. Then they’d set up shop down at the pier. “Drive a hard bargain, cher. Don’ get soft or dey’ll take you for all you worth.”

The moon rose higher and higher in the sky and the sack weighed heavier on her shoulder. Thick bayou mud sucked at Francie’s shoes. One more chunky frog and she could go home. You gotta be out dere. You gotta be somewhere. 

She held her kerosene lamp up high and scanned the reeds for red eyes. There! The biggest bullfrog yet set Francie’s heart to racing. Madame Bérengère would pay extra for this meaty fella. She stuck her gig in the mud. Only a hand catch would do—she wanted to keep it alive and fresh for as long as possible. 

Careful not to break the beam of light currently freezing her prey, she silently edged closer. Quick as a cat, she shot her hand out to snatch the frog.

But another red-eyed beast had the same idea. 

A cottonmouth snake struck out a half-second too late and missed the frog—and Francie’s hand—by less than an inch.

“Cho Laud!” Francie stumbled backward, holding her lantern in one hand, the prized frog in the other. She shoved the frog down her shirt, grabbed the gig, and backed her way up the bank, keeping her light high. The slimy, muddy body hopping and struggling against her naked belly did nothing for her nerves.

“Mais, dat was too close,” she said to her catch as she dropped him into the bag with the others. She untied her canoe from a big cypress tree and paddled toward home, taking great care to look out for more snakes—or heaven forbid, a gator—along the way.

Francie always thought about Daddy on nights like this—every night, truth be told—and how he’d have loved her story about the snake. His eyes would have twinkled, he would have swirled her around in a dance. “Aiyee! Dat’s my girl, Francie!”

A few months before Francie’s tenth birthday, Daddy went to jail. Mama said Daddy whupped some society gentleman something fierce when he refused to pay what he owed, so they threw him in jail up in Angola. She and Mama struggled to get by for two years—Francie hunted and traded, Mama sewed beautiful dresses for the fine ladies of New Orleans—until finally Daddy came home. Francie had been so happy to see him. She thought for sure he’d make their lives whole again, but when he returned, he didn’t laugh, or sing, or dance anymore. The twinkle had gone out. He drank moonshine noon to night. “Not today, cher,” he’d say when she asked him to go trapping or sing with her.

Mama and Daddy fought like two dogs over a ham bone until one day he left and didn’t come back. Francie waited for weeks—months—for him to come home. It had been over three years, and she still caught herself watching for him to walk up the drive.  

She blamed Mama for chasing him off. Mama said, “Men can’t be trusted to do right by their women, Francie. Best you learn that now.” 

Buy on Amazon | Bookshop.org

About the Author

CB had been threatening to write the Mansfield stories for twelve years after being inspired by the Reba McEntire video for ‘Because of You.’  In 2020, she finally birthed the books. (Thank you, COVID)  The Mansfield books launched The Express Investigations Series.

After bouncing around the country, CB settled in Phoenix for twenty years, but now connects to wi-fi in Texas. She lives with her seven-pound Yorkie, Benji, who rules her life with an iron paw.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: Ravaged by Naima Simone

(Burned, Inc., #2)
Publication date: November 15th 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

From USA Today bestselling author Naima Simone comes an electrifying romance about a pro basketball player and a graphic novelist who can’t seem to stay in the friend zone.

Miriam

It’s no coincidence that my family’s breakup service is called BURNED Inc. I know what it’s like to be dumped. I’ve been there.

Long story short, I’ve got a rule when it comes to my love life: no athletes. As it happens, my best friend, Jordan, is a professional basketball player. He also has a delicious body and sexy tattoos.

But rules are rules.

Jordan

Miriam is my best friend. She’s also the love of my life, the woman I’ve been dreaming about since we met. But she doesn’t do athletes.

I get it. I really do. And I just want Miriam to be happy. Which is why I set her up with a teammate to help her find the man she deserves—even though I can tell she’s into me from that one hot-as-hell night we shared months ago. Still, rules are rules.

But here’s the thing: I’m a competitor.

And sometimes you have to break the rules to win.

Excerpt

“Why were you about to leave?” Jordan brushes his lips across my forehead, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. “No, let me guess. Got too close for you. Too real. And what do two people like us, who come from f*cked-up homes where we saw the worst people had to give to each other, know about intimacy, right? It scares the hell out of us. Or it should. And normally, it does. But not with you, Miriam. And you can feel safe with me. I won’t hurt you. Won’t use whatever you share with me against you. So don’t run. Stay.”

Stay.

A shudder ripples through me, and I don’t try to stifle it. Stay. I’ve been wanted for several reasons. My IQ. My talent. Sex.

But no one’s ever asked me to just be. And not with them.

For how long?

The question sits on my tongue like a five-hundred-pound anvil, but I don’t voice it, too afraid of the response. Besides, for once, I’m also content to just be.

Tilting my head back, I rest it on his shoulder. This up close and personal with him, I can catalog every detail on his face. The black pupil with the very thin ring of brown. The tiny scar on the edge of his right cheekbone. The deep dip above his top lip that lends it the bow shape. The almost-there-but-not-quite cleft in his chin.

I’ve drawn him countless times in the last few weeks. So many that his face is as familiar to me as my own. And yet, I could analyze him for hours and still find new elements that would fascinate me. Jordan Ransom could become a new field of study, and I would easily earn my doctorate in him.

“Tonight, I told Daniel I couldn’t see him any longer.”

His eyes narrow, but he doesn’t speak. Yet my heart pounds in my chest, and the beat grows louder, the volume so deafening I can barely hear my own voice.

“It wouldn’t have been fair,” I whisper.

“Why not?” he asks, and that dark, low timbre is midnight and sin. Temptation wrapped in sex.

“You know why.”

He bends his head the scant inches separating us and only stops when his mouth hovers a breath above mine. “Say it,” he orders, his lips so close they nearly brush mine.

“Because he isn’t you.”

Jordan doesn’t move, and I can taste his kiss, but he doesn’t eliminate the remaining space between us. Doesn’t take my mouth and give me what I can now admit I came here for. No, instead he stares at me, his expression inscrutable. Unease twists inside me, and for the first time since he placed me on his lap, I want to climb off, insert space between us.

“We’re going to f*ck,” he states, and while the word sends a lightning bolt of heat straight between my legs, it tightens the screw on my unease, deepens it. Because his tone is flat, almost disconnected.

“Yes.” We are. I need him tonight. And I won’t be able to stop at a kiss. I’m too empty, too hungry. I haven’t felt complete since the last time he filled me.

“And I’m going to be your mistake.” His fingers thread through my hair, sifting before fisting the curls and bringing them to his nose. He inhales, his eyes closing and, for a moment, freeing me from their hold. It’s in this instant that a flicker of emotion flashes across his face. Pleasure. Pain. Both. But when his lashes lift, his expression is back to being a mask of inscrutability. “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m still going to f*ck you. I find I’m so goddam desperate to be inside you I’m willing to have you any way I can. But I just want to make sure I know where we stand.”

Oh God.

Regret pierces me in the chest, sliding between my ribs like the sharpest blade. I have a lot to answer for. The latest being from a couple of nights ago. I run the moments after our kiss through my head. I never called him a mistake, never said I regretted what happened on my couch. But viewing my actions, my silence, through his lens, I can see how he’d interpret them that way. And coupled with how I friend-zoned him after the first time we had sex, calling that a mistake . . . well, damn.

Briefly closing my eyes, I hate myself for causing this bold, beautiful man even a second of self-doubt. He’s no one’s mistake. No one’s regret. And I can tell him that. I could write him a fucking sonnet about that.

Or I could show him.

Buy on Amazon | Audible | Bookshop.org

About the Author

Published since 2009, USA Today Bestselling author Naima Simone loves writing sizzling romances with heart, a touch of humor and snark. Her books have been featured in The Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly, and described as balancing “crackling, electric love scenes with exquisitely rendered characters caught in emotional turmoil.”

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

Connect:
http://naimasimone.com/

https://twitter.com/Naima_Simone

https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/y7o1t4

https://www.facebook.com/naimasimoneauthor

https://www.instagram.com/naimasimoneauthor/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3232449.Naima_Simone

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight: Kiss You Back by Mel Walker

Popular girl, Kennedy Myers made one mistake in high school – she chose the wrong boy. If only her nerdy friend, Elijah Stevenson would have told her how he felt, maybe things could have been different. Ten years later, the Spring Hills High School reunion gives them a chance to face their regrets. Will they get a second chance, or will it be just another missed connection? Readers who enjoy swoony reads will love Kiss You Back by Mel Walker, a second chance, friends-to-lovers, small town romance.

Read Now! 

Grab your copy on Amazon

Love Doesn’t Come with an Expiration Date

Kennedy Myers was the queen of Spring Hills High School: beauty pageant champ, head cheerleader, and the most popular girl in school. She only made one mistake—she said yes to the wrong boy.

Elijah Stevenson was the resident nerd at Spring Hills High. Convention said he should have never been friends with someone like Kennedy Myers. He hid in the shadows and avoided the spotlight, which was where she thrived. Not wanting to risk their friendship, Elijah watched as she ran off with the boy he knew wouldn't love her the way he did.

The Spring Hills Ten-Year High School reunion gives them both an opportunity to revisit the point in their life which they both hold with regret. Will the reunion allow them a second chance or will it be just another missed connection?

Excerpt 

Copyright 2022 Mel Walker

I climb off the bike and begin to walk with it toward the edge of the water when movement to my right causes me to turn. It’s a person, and I nearly jump.

“Kennedy?”

He stares at me with a surprised look that must match mine. “Elijah? What…” I don’t complete the sentence. Words aren’t necessary. We both know why. My eyes scan over his shoulder to his rental car from this afternoon, backed into the woods and camouflaged by the trees. On the ground in front of it is a blanket, a bottle of beer, a half-eaten sandwich, and a book. Of course, a book. “I don’t want to disturb you…” I mutter, feeling like an intruder. There are a thousand hidden roads outside of town, but only one both Elijah and I claim, and I had to decide to visit this one the same night he returned to town. What could this mean?

He hops to his feet, striding toward me. He’s changed outfits, now sporting a comfortable aqua polo shirt and khaki shorts. He’s barefoot, his sandals placed to the side of the blanket. His hazel eyes lock on me, and I feel like I’m in a tractor beam of a spaceship, unable to move. He reaches me in three long strides, a look of determination in his body but vulnerability in his voice. “Please. Stay.”

I have no defense for his words. Before I take another breath, he slips his hands into mine and doesn’t move. He stares at me like I’m a dream—as if I’m a prize. No one has looked at me like that in years. Surely this close, he must see the broken pieces in front of him.

“I thought the sunset would be the most beautiful thing I hoped to see this evening.” He squeezes my hand slightly. “Once again, you’ve proven me wrong.” He leans in, and a woodsy and citrus scent from a recent shower fill my nostrils. His words are so different, so daring from the quiet boy years ago, yet the look remains the same. He’s finally able to enunciate the words he’s always held back from me.

I close my eyes and prepare, hoping he’ll reward me in our own special way. His warm lips land on the tip of my nose. “Kiss you.” His voice catches as the words stretch to fill the silence.

I sway on my heels, his gentle pull the only thing keeping me from falling. My eyes open, no longer surprised to find his gaze locked on me, examining me. This is no longer the boy who backs down, who walks away. His gaze lowers to my lips, which part with a soft exhale. We are too close for the shadows to hide him mouthing the words oh my god.

Help us both.

I’m not sure how exactly we fell into this deadly greeting, but nothing in the world gets my heart beating like this. Every single time. I feel like I’m on a tightrope walking a thin cable while a storm whips around us. Every single time, I expect to fall. Every single time I nearly do.

I end this torture by pressing my lips to the tip of his nose. I linger longer than I ever have before, only the burn in my calves causing me to lower. The bottom of my lower lip brushes against the top of his upper one. A spark races through my body, and another audible sigh escapes my mouth. “Kiss… you back.”

I avoid his gaze, landing on his Adam’s apple as he takes a long gulp. “Like minds,” he says and juts his chin toward his blanket. I follow him, our hands still intertwined as one.

Mason’s Trail was Elijah’s go-to spot back in high school. At least twice a week, he’d hide out here away from the world. The first time he brought me here was junior year. Getting to know Elijah is a process. It takes a long while to earn his trust and for him to lower his barriers, but once he does, you have a permanent place in his fortress.

We’ve only been here together maybe a dozen times in the final two years of high school, but I always think of this place as our place, not his, not mine.

“I was out for a ride, and the bike just turned down the road,” I say as we slip down to a large red-and-black plaid blanket. My visit to the women’s center is just another secret I keep from him.

He tilts his head in my direction, a sexy half smirk on his beautiful face. “Did you come for the sunset or me?” 

About Mel Walker

Mel Walker has been writing fiction most of his adult life. Specializing in Short Stories and Contemporary fiction and Romance Novels. A native New Yorker and life-long frustrated NY Mets fan. He loves to write about ordinary people placed in difficult situations, especially as it relates to their closest relationships.

Mel Walker is a rare bird, the male romance author. Specializing in heartfelt small town romance, he enjoys telling compelling romances with all the feels. A native New Yorkers and life-long frustrated NY Mets fan, he enjoys long walks, bike rides and taking in the energy of the city.

Follow: Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Reader Group | Goodreads | BookBub | Newsletter | Amazon | BingeBooks