Saturday, April 9, 2022

The Secret by Max Monroe

 

Mr. Hot Professor, the man I’m determined to resist, is challenging me to a competition—a playful, secret game, so to speak—where the winner takes all.

The Secret, an all-new hot as sin romantic comedy from New York Times bestselling author Max Monroe, is available now!

Dear Fellow Bookworms,

I need your help.

I, Rachel Rose, am in quite the pickle with a hot-as-sin English Lit professor by the name of Ty Winslow, and I don’t know how to get out of it.

Let me break it down for you:

Girl meets Guy.

Girl gives Guy her underwear on a dare but nothing else identifying (like her name or number) because she plans to never see Guy again.

But Girl does see Guy again, in a very professional setting, where she is to be the Teaching Assistant to his Professor for an entire semester.

Girl would like to ignore all events of the past, but Guy is a whole list of tempting things that are hard to resist. (See below:)

#1: Insanely attractive.
#2: The most fun a girl could ever have.
#3: Successful and intelligent.
#4: He can quote Walt Whitman at the drop of a hat—which I’m sure you know is a dangerous thing for a literature-lover.
#5: Smooth with a capital S. He could charm the panties off a woman WITHOUT the help of a dare.

And now, Mr. Hot Professor, the man I’m determined to resist, is challenging me to a competition—a playful, secret game, so to speak—where the winner takes all.

My plan? Play the game long enough to win—long enough to walk away with the upper hand—without doing something stupid like falling in love.

It’s possible . . . right?

If you have any advice, please reach out to me soon—before it’s too late.

XOXO,
Rachel

I loved this book. I need you to know that first and that I'm not just saying that because I got an advance copy. I have also loved the other books in this series, The Bet and The Pact. Those Winslow brothers are just... wonderful. This book was fun and despite the fact that I do not like forbidden type romance books, this didn't feel forbidden. It helped that Rachel wasn't his student so there wasn't a weird age gap. Ty was super loveable and I was rooting for things to work out (as all good romance novels do). The humor in this one made it even better. I can't wait for Remy's book, The Redo to come out in July! I've been waiting to read more about him since Winnie Winslow & Wes's book (Scoring the Billionaire) and Charlotte & Nick's (Dr. NEURO). They're not required to read but give a little more insight into the Winslow family.

Read your copy today, exclusively on Amazon and FREE in Kindle Unlimited!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3G8qTtB
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/TheSecretMM

Add The Secret to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3g46Mm0

About Max Monroe
A duo of romance authors team up under the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling pseudonym Max Monroe to bring you sexy, laugh-out-loud reads.

Max Monroe is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of more than ten contemporary romance titles. Favorite writing partners and long time friends, Max and Monroe strive to live and write all the fun, sexy swoon so often missing from their Facebook newsfeed. Sarcastic by nature, their two writing souls feel like they’ve found their other half. This is their most favorite adventure thus far. ​

Connect with Max Monroe
BookBub: http://bit.ly/3bJFJJh
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ReoxkK
Facebook: http://bit.ly/31XxggS
Instagram: http://bit.ly/39wuCkW
Stay up to date with Max Monroe by joining their mailing list today: http://bit.ly/2HzGmau
Website: https://www.authormaxmonroe.com/

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Happy New Year!

I realize now that it is almost February and I haven't posted anything in a LONG TIME! I have no defense for this other than I was doing podcast stuff and having to much fun reading books to stop to write about them when I was done. Is this why #booktok is such a big thing now? To be honest it would be quicker to give a quick video review than to put the time into writing a response of why I did or didn't like what I read. Maybe someday. But for now you can check out all of the 228 books I read in 2021 here: 

Or check out my 2022 books here:


I read some interesting books in 2021, including romance novels that included blue aliens, dragon shifters, the devil and demons (those one felt weird but were well written), and mafia men, on top of the usual contemporary romance I go for. I can't specifically say I had any favorites, but I did read a lot of books by Jessica Gadziala, Sophie Lark, Ruby Dixon, and others.

One set of books I liked right at the end of the year were The Ares Trials by Eliza Raine. It was a fun play on mythology. I had read The Hades Trials right before that and felt it dragged on a bit, but The Areas Trials was a great read all the way through and recommend both if you like romance with mythology thrown in. 

Kati Wilde also has some good books in The Dead Lands series if you like the idea of barbarians that are respectful towards women (I was a fan).

Have you read any books you think I would like? Recommend them in the comments!

Sunday, August 1, 2021

The Pilot and the Puck-Up by Pippa Grant

We need to talk about this book. Mostly because it is part of the BBA Book Club this month, but also because I'm co-hosting the discussion about it.

Join us at 8pm EST on August 1st for

Description
He’s the biggest, baddest, most spider-fearing motherpucker on the ice…

When you’re named after the king of the gods, the world expects certain things of you.

Tough? Damn right.

Smart? Don’t let the hockey uniform fool you.

Large and in charge? Honey, I’m the biggest, baddest, mother pucking-est machine to ever own the ice. I shoot. I score. In and out of the rink. I don’t come early, but I come often, if you know what I mean. And I always leave the ladies wanting more.

Until that chick last night.

I’m no one-thrust wonder, and you’re damn right I’m going to prove to her I can do better. But every time I think I’m finally on my way back into her pants, she one-ups and out-balls me.

I should cut my losses, lick my wounds, and walk away.

But Zeus Berger doesn’t walk away from anything.

Especially when she's the only woman in the world who might be able to handle me.

The Pilot and the Puck-Up is the first in the Thrusters Series by Pippa Grant. It follows members of the Thrusters professional hockey team out of Copper Valley (fictional town in VA). There is also a series about the baseball team (Fireballs) which is excellent as well (I recently reviewed The Grumpy Player Next Door). It is part of a series but they are standalone books, which I appreciate.

Here is why I love this book so much (and all of the Thrusters books, really): humor, romance, sports stuff, feels, and pranks. Zeus is a big dude with a big personality. The first time you see him he's fitting himself into a tight dress as part of a bet. It's like he HAS to do something if somebody challenges him to.

Joey is a badass. There is no other way to describe her. She's also just so cool that you can't help but love her. And it is that attitude and ability to beat Zeus in everything that gets his attention. He likes the challenge and how tough she is.

Zeus has an.. issue in his pants the night they meet and after that things continue to go wrong for the poor guy. But luckily for him Joey likes that he keeps trying. She wants him to win her over because she wants to know that he's worthy of her time. I can appreciate that, especially since Joey has walls up since her mom ran out on their family when she was a kid.

Not to mention the audio book is great. Erin Mallon and Jason Clarke do a great job, and I love that Erin reads the female voices and Jason reads the male. The back and forth with the 2 voices makes it that much better.

This book is free to read on KU.

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Love Not at First Sight by Sarah Ready

When your soul mate is the man you loathed at first sight…Book Two in Sarah Ready’s Soul Mates in Romeo series sparkles with tension and a delicious helping of swoon-worthy romance.

Veronica Diaz loves her career, her friends and the great outdoors – she has no room in her life for men. In fact, she knows there are only two types of men in the world: players and wanna-be players and she wants nothing to do with any of them.

So when a psychic informs Veronica that her fated soul mate is Frederick Knight “The King of Players,” Veronica does what any sensible woman would do – she runs.

A twist of fate lands Veronica in the depths of a pitch-black cave system with a man she’s never met and can’t see. As Veronica and Sam struggle to survive they open up, share their secrets, and risk their lives for each other. Soon Veronica starts to wonder if maybe not all men are players, and maybe she can trust Sam enough to fall in love.

The only problem: Sam is actually Frederick Knight. The man Veronica swore she’d never, ever, ever love.

In fact, she loathed him at first sight.

And if they make it out of the cave alive, and Veronica sees him for the first time, she’ll loathe him again. Won’t she?

But maybe, sometimes you can only see who someone really is when you can’t see them at all? And maybe you can only fall in love when it’s not at first sight?

“This will easily and unequivocally be one of your top reads this year.” By Bookaddict (Chasing Romeo, Book 1 in the Soul Mates in Romeo Series)

Review

I really enjoyed reading this book. Veronica's urge to run is understandable. Her father was a womanizer and dragged her along to snag women, even though he was married. So when she is told (despite her not wanting to know) that Frederick Knight, the well-known playboy, was her soul mate... it seems fair to me that she would take off.

Their time in the cave together was such an important time for both of them. It takes blind dating to a whole other level. They can't see each other because they're stuck in the dark, and instead have to rely on their other senses to get them out.

I fell in love with both of them during their time in the cave system. Frederick (Sam) wanted to be there to support Veronica and her strength and abilities was outstanding. Also, I appreciated the bits of humor. They were in a tough situation but their personalities are what got them through. Also, I never thought cave sex would be a thing but... whew! I don't know how they had the energy for that but... *shrugs hey, it's a romance novel!

A fun read and we get to see characters from the first book in the Soulmates in Romeo series (yay Chloe and Nick... and a baby?!)!

Grab your copy today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2SU65TF
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/LovenotatFirst
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3iigtQ5
Nook: https://bit.ly/3uKzw8f
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3gcGbnq

Add Love Not at First Sight to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3gt90La

About Sarah Ready
Author Sarah Ready writes contemporary romance and romantic comedy. Her books have been described as “euphoric”, “heartwarming” and “laugh out loud”. Her debut novel The Fall in Love Checklist was hailed as “the unicorn read of 2020”. She loves to write fast-paced, emotionally compelling romances about quirky, smart women and the men who love them.

Before writing romance full-time Sarah had lots of fun teaching at an Ivy League. Then she realized she could have even more fun writing romance. Her favorite things after writing are adventuring and travel. You’ll frequently find her using her degree at a dino dig site, crawling into a cave, snorkeling, or on horseback riding through the jungle – all fodder for her next book. She’s lived in Scotland, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and NYC. She currently lives in the Caribbean with her water-obsessed pup and her awesome family.
You can visit her online at www.sarahready.com

Connect with Sarah
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2PVEe4j
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3wt7D6B
BookBub: https://bit.ly/3wtATKA
Website: http://sarahready.com/
Stay up to date with all the things and subscribe to Sarah’s mailing list: https://bit.ly/3sWxUbe

Thursday, July 8, 2021

The Grumpy Player Next Door by Pippa Grant

 


BLURB

An enemies-to-lovers / sports / grumpy-sunshine / neighbor romance

I, Tillie Jean Rock, am not in love with my brother’s teammate. Sure, he might have those biceps and that “I am the grouchiest of grouchy bears” smolder, and he might shovel snow off his driveway next door wearing nothing but boxer shorts and rubber boots, and he might be running a side business feeding all the stray goats in town, but studliness is only skin-deep.

And I might flirt with him every chance I get, but I swear it’s only to annoy my brother.

And him.

Because Max Cole?

Under all of those glorious muscles and chiseled cheekbones and searing glares beats the heart of a heartless devil.

I could no sooner fall in love with a guy who treats me like a kid, and judges me at every opportunity, and sets an army of garden gnomes loose on my yard, than I could fall in love with my grandfather’s pet parrot.

But I can definitely annoy him. I can one hundred percent get on board with annoying him.

That’s what you do when you don’t like your neighbor, right?

But you know what they say about love and hate…

It’s a very thin line.

Especially when the real reason I’m not in love with Max Cole—that he’s incapable of love—might not be true at all.

The Grumpy Player Next door is a fun-filled enemies-to-lovers romcom featuring a ray of sunshine on a mission, an athlete who’s only grouchy around her, and an epic prank gone wrong. It stands alone and comes complete with small-town shenanigans, a goat who’s not nearly as wise as his name suggests, and proof that sometimes, love is the best kind of vengeance.

Review

The book begins with a prank, which I love because the first glimpse of these two characters together causes tension. And THE PRANKS in this book! So many great ones and I would love to see them compare notes with the Bergers and Nick Murphy in the Thrusters books. 

In previous Copper Valley Fireballs books you catch bits of Tillie Jean flirting with Max and Cooper getting annoyed by it. There is so much fun and humor in this book, but also bits of insecurity and how Max is dealing with issues like anxiety as well as Tillie Jean's expectations of herself.

Max and Tillie Jean have wonderful chemistry mixed in with all of the fun of Shipwreck. I honestly thought Long Beak Silver couldn't get any funnier but that bird learned some language that is not appropriate for visiting children to hear.

Another hit by Pippa Grant! Check out the excerpt below and there is a link to a giveaway at the end of the post!






PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited







EXCERPT

There’s a fine art to revenge, and today, I am arting the hell out of it. I’m talking cackles of glee, evil cartoon overlord-style, rubbing my hands together while bouncing on my toes. Reminding myself to shut up because my brother will be home from his morning workout any minute now, and I don’t want to tip my hand when he doesn’t know I’m waiting for him here in his house up on the mountainside.
You would think he would’ve learned to engage his security system more often by now.
But he hasn’t, which means I’m here, armed and dangerous and ready, and I’m cackling with glee all over again.
I know, I know. Is this really how you want to pay him back for having a box labeled “dildos” delivered to you at your parents’ house in the midst of all the pre-wedding activities for your other brother last week?
Yes, actually.
Yes, it is.
It’s payback time.
Also?
I have zero doubt Cooper will have mad respect that I’m doing this.
Sort of like while I was pissed when he replaced my coffee beans with roasted goat poop before he left for spring training nine months ago, I very much respected that he pulled it off, even if I wasn’t pleased at having to admit that that was the prank that took him over the top to win in our annual off-season prank war.
But this winter?
This winter, my brother Cooper “Stinky Booty” Rock is going down.
The universe told me so. Why else would it have hand-delivered that video into my social media stream to inspire me right after I finished figuring out where to donate an unopened box of dildos?
I cackle again.
And then I slap my hand over my mouth.
He’s home.
There’s his dark head, bent toward the knob, beyond the tempered glass panel beside his front door. He’s dressed in Fireballs red, which is more orange than it is red, and he’s probably worn out from lifting at the gym.
Yesterday was cardio day.
I know, because he ran past Crusty Nut, our dad’s restaurant where I’m the manager five days a week, at least two dozen times without stopping in once to say hi.
I haven’t seen him since the wedding several days ago, which either means he’s avoiding me and the revenge he knows I owe him, or he has a stick up his butt and has forgotten the little people.
Or, possibly, he’s distracted, in which case, he needs this.
I squat into position at the top of the stairs, as hidden as I can be while still seeing my target, Nerf blaster locked and loaded, waiting while he fumbles with his keys.
For the record?
It’s not easy to hide at the top of a curved staircase. I’m on my belly now, half-angled behind the wall of the hallway to his guest bedrooms, peering between the slats of the banister, hoping all my target practice pays off.
Steady, TJ. This is what you trained for.
The lock clicks.
I flatten myself lower and take aim.
The door swings open.
Dark hair in the foyer. Go go go.
I squeeze the trigger, sending a rapid blast of modified foam darts at the six balloons floating in the space above the door.
The needle sticking out barely an eighth of an inch in the tip of the first dart connects. One helium balloon pops. Then two more, followed by the fourth and fifth. The sixth shifts after getting hit, like it’s a tough guy balloon. It’s the ninja of balloons, and it doesn’t want to participate in my dastardly plans today, but that’s okay. The other balloons are bursting in a sparkly, shiny, beautiful pink glitter spray that’s splattering on the walls, exploding from its nylon shell and raining down like a spring shower, coating the walls, making the air sparkle, and dusting all that dark hair as Cooper’s lifting his head. “What the—”
And in the span of a heartbeat, before he can finish that sentence, I realize my mistake.
My terrible, horrible, very bad miscalculation.
If I were a superhero, I’d be sucking all that glitter into my lungs and redirecting it into my brother’s bedroom, which is likely what I should’ve done in the first place—hindsight, right?—but I didn’t. This was so much more dramatic and didn’t risk me having to find out which local he’s screwing around with in his spare time, as she’d be coated in glitter too after rolling around in his sheets, except my prank has failed.
It has failed spectacularly.
Oh my god,” I gasp.
That’s not Cooper.
That is so not Cooper.






ALSO AVAILABLE


AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited

ALSO AVAILABLE




#2 Real Fake Love – 99c for TODAY ONLY!
(US & UK only)
 
 
Free in Kindle Unlimited
 
 
AUTHOR BIO
 
Pippa Grant is a USA Today Bestselling author who writes romantic comedies that will make tears run down your leg. When she's not reading, writing or sleeping, she's being crowned employee of the month as a stay-at-home mom and housewife trying to prepare her adorable demon spawn to be productive members of society, all the while fantasizing about long walks on the beach with hot chocolate chip cookies.
 
 
AUTHOR LINKS
 
Facebook: 
https://www.facebook.com/pippagrantromance
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ThePipsquad
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/ReadPippa
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/pippagrant
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/pippa-grant
Website: http://www.pippagrant.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/pippa.grant  
 
 
GIVEAWAY
 
There is a giveaway for Grumpy Player Next Door Book Box full of goodies plus bonus signed paperbacks (1 winner, open internationally – please note international winners may be responsible for their own VAT should it apply)