A Billionaire for Christmas by Jo Lyons

Posted August 27, 2025 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, NetGalley, Romantic Comedy (Rom-Com), Sexual Content, Standalone / 0 Comments

When talented chef Molly’s best friend and business partner, Ava, passes away, she leaves Molly their beloved restaurant – and a wild, impossible bucket list to complete. But thanks to a legal mix-up, Molly’s inheritance is at risk unless she ticks off every outrageous item before the Christmas Eve deadline: just twelve days away.

Determined to honour Ava’s wishes and desperate to save her dream, Molly searches for a billionaire willing to share Champagne with her in a hot tub – one of the more extravagant challenges on the bucket list. She’s in a luxurious ski resort in the French Alps, so it might just be doable. But then she meets Levi. A devastatingly handsome billionaire, yes, but infuriatingly resistant to getting involved!

As the snow falls and sparks fly, Molly is entangled in a series of increasingly embarrassing escapades. With time running out, can she pull off the impossible – and maybe even find love along the way?

~Standalone~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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It’s That Time of Year Again ~ Christmas Romances!

Posted August 27, 2025 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Discussion Post / 0 Comments

Well, folks (and fellow romance lovers), it’s that time of year again.  The end of August, when the air conditioning in many parts of the world is running on high, thoughts of snow drifts are a future thing, and that Christmas gift-buying list is not quite on our radar.

And… It’s time for the Christmas season ARCs to begin to show up, while many Christmas Romances start hitting the shelves (or the one-click retail sites) right this moment.  Now, for me, I can read a holiday romance at any point in the year.  Between now and the end of the year, I’ll have read enough holiday romances to give the North Pole’s library some fierce competition! 

You, too?  Then get ready for the Christmas Romance reading to begin, and make your own list of the titles that you want to give as gifts… to yourself!

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I Wish You Love by Madeleine Jaimes

Posted August 26, 2025 by Marsha in Booksprout ARC, Contemporary Romance, Series, Small Town Romance, Women's Fiction / 2 Comments

Alice McBain spent a lifetime putting others first—her family, her friends, and Marilyn Morgan, the woman she’s secretly loved for over a decade.

But Marilyn isn’t just the mayor of Tuckaway Bay and Alice’s superior—she’s running for a state Senate seat and insists on keeping their relationship under wraps until after the election. Her constituents, and her husband, must never know.

Even though Alice has come to an amicable arrangement with her own husband, she is tired of hiding. After years of whispers and waiting, she wants the life she and Marilyn have dreamed of for years—out loud and in the open.

But when she finally finds the courage to demand more than hidden moments, the carefully constructed façade of her life crumbles. The fallout touches everything. Her family is thrown into chaos, and Marilyn’s political ambitions hang in the balance.

And the woman who’s always put others first must decide what love truly means when you finally choose yourself.

Titles in the Tuckaway Bay series include: Beach Therapy ~ The Space Inbetween ~ The Christmas Storm ~ The Me I Left Behind ~ I Wish You Love ~ Anywhere But Here ~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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Their First Dance by Laurie Batzel

Posted August 25, 2025 by Marsha in Closed Doors/ Fade to Black, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, NetGalley, Series, Small Town Romance / 0 Comments

Could their first dance…

Last a lifetime?

Fanny Cunningham is only in small-town Crystal Hill to help her aging dance teacher. She has no time for local handyman Lawson Carl, who tried—and failed—to charm her ten years ago.

But when she needs a partner for an instructional dance video, he’s her only option. Teaching Law to dance is more fun than she imagined.

And she may end up with bruised toes, but she feels strangely safe in his burly arms. Could the man who stumbled into her studio be her perfect partner on and off the dance floor?

Titles in the Crystal Hill Romance series include: The Dairy Queen’s Second Chance ~ The Valentine Plan ~ The Teacher’s Forever Family ~ Their First Dance ~

This is an adult 18+ story that might contain language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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Danger in the Wilderness by Darlene L. Turner

Posted August 25, 2025 by Marsha in Closed Doors/ Fade to Black, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Love Inspired (Harlequin), NetGalley, Seasoned Romance, Series, Small Town Romance / 0 Comments

A search for a kidnapped camper

could cost them their lives.

Park warden Dekker Hoyt’s father-son camping trip turns into a nightmare when a serial killer abducts his father.

With just seventy-two hours to find him, Dekker turns to criminal investigative analyst Blaire Tremblay to identify the Park Campfire Killer.

As they follow his taunting clues and face increasingly violent threats, Dekker and Blaire know that one wrong step could be fatal. With the ruthless criminal following their every move, can they stop a killer in hiding…waiting to complete his deadly plan?

Titles in the National Park Protectors series include: Danger in the Wilderness ~ Trail of Mountain Secrets ~

This is a romance with either only kissing or possible violence due to the nature of the romantic suspense story.

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Smuggler’s Cove by Fern Michaels

Posted August 25, 2025 by Marsha in Kensington Books, Mystery, NetGalley / 0 Comments

Growing up, Madison Taylor and her younger brother Lincoln lived in privilege, but their sheltered existence abruptly ended when their father was arrested for fraud and the family assets were seized. Since then, Madison has carved out a new path, studying fashion and working her way up to editor in chief of La Femme magazine, while Lincoln teaches wealth management at a small college outside the city. Both have separated themselves from their family and their past—until an unexpected bequest arrives from their late uncle.

Madison and Lincoln are now the new co-owners of a marina at Smugglers Cove on the Navesink River. Instead of a fabulous, Hamptons-style property, Smugglers Cove offers little beyond a dilapidated dock, a few gas pumps, and a handful of clam boats. Madison’s plan to sell the property goes awry when a dead body is found floating under their dock and transforms their new inheritance into a crime scene.

Suddenly, Madison is swapping her city-girl wardrobe for cargo pants and flannel shirts, while she and Lincoln receive a crash course in small-town Jersey shore life, complete with quirky characters, pirate legends, and a mysterious treasure map. They’re discovering more about themselves and each other every day, but with a mystery to solve, and big decisions to make, these are lessons they’ll need to learn fast . . .

Titles in the Twin Lives series include: Smuggler’s Cove ~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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His Forgotten Wife by Tara Pammi

Posted August 25, 2025 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, NetGalley, Sexual Content, Standalone / 0 Comments

The boss secretly wed her…

then forgot!

Ares Demetrius wakes from a coma to find his family scheming to steal his company. The first call the billionaire makes is to loyal assistant Dolly Singh—to demand she become his fake fiancée to protect his business empire. Except his accident has made him forget…they’re already married!

Unlike Ares, Dolly remembers every excruciating detail: their clandestine wedding and her mortifying love confession. To refuse his proposal would be to relive that. This time, though, Dolly is playing with fire by accepting Ares’s diamond. Because the attraction isn’t just scorching—it’s mutual…

~Standalone~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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The Rancher’s Prayer by Donna Gartshore

Posted August 25, 2025 by Marsha in Closed Doors/ Fade to Black, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Love Inspired (Harlequin), Modern Western Romance, NetGalley, Small Town Romance, Standalone / 0 Comments

To earn the love he’s always wanted,
He must let go of his past…

Luke Duffy is desperate to save his family’s ranch. Especially after decisions made by his late father land their horse therapy business in trouble. But help comes in the unlikely form of guest Arabella Lark.

As a PR expert, Bella has plans that could make the ranch thrive, but Luke’s rocky past makes him hesitant to rely on her.

The single mom also has a lot on her plate: her job is on the line, and her daughter struggles with anxiety. Will they find the strength to face their challenges and create a new beginning together?

~Standalone~

This is a clean, sweet romance with either closed doors or fade to black, or only kissing.

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A Hero’s Return by Carrie Nichols

Posted August 24, 2025 by Marsha in Closed Doors/ Fade to Black, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, NetGalley, Series, Sexual Content, Small Town Romance / 0 Comments

He knows how to be brave on a battlefield

Now he has to be brave with his heart

Years of military service taught decorated veteran Braden Sullivan how to be strong. It didn’t teach him how to be vulnerable.

Back in his Oregon hometown, with a job as a helicopter pilot and a two-family home to renovate, he’s not at all prepared for his heart to take flight after meeting his tenant, Cassie Donovan.

The widowed single mom is beautiful, charming…and terrified of loving another pilot after losing her husband in a crash. Overcoming her fears and his own uncertainties will take courage—but isn’t that what a hero soldier is for?

Titles in the Finding Forever in Sandy Shores series include: A Hero’s Return ~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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Let’s Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About by Isabelle Popp

Posted August 24, 2025 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, NetGalley, Sexual Content, Small Town Romance, Standalone / 0 Comments

Textile artist Sadie Fox did not sign up for this. When she agreed to come home to Pea Blossom, Indiana, it was to care for her father’s beloved pumpkin patch. The deal was that—just for the summer—she would grow a ginormous pumpkin, win the Indiana State Fair’s pumpkin contest and finally win back her father’s (grudging) respect.

Instead, a horde of wild hogs destroyed the. entire. patch. Which is precisely when the annoyingly sexy, sunshiny next-door neighbor shows up.

Josh Thatcher is a tech millionaire who traded in the office for growing gourds, including experimental squash hybrids. And for the life of her, Sadie can’t understand what he sees in her sweary, tattooed, prickly self—or why he’s offering to help his biggest competitor. But a storm-fueled kiss proves there’s definitely something growing between them.

Maybe it’s just attraction. Maybe it’s more. Whatever it is, it’s already bigger than Sadie’s fast-growing pumpkin…or the secret that Josh has been hiding.

~Standalone~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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Alibi for Murder by Debra Webb

Posted August 24, 2025 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Mystery, NetGalley, Police Procedural, Romantic Suspense, Series, Sexual Content, Small Town Romance, Thriller / 0 Comments

Murder brings the FBI to her door.

Past secrets could get two old friends killed.

When Allie Foster becomes the prime suspect in a murder, the small-town loner reaches out to the one person she can trust.

Convinced Allie’s innocent, Colby Agency investigating attorney Steve Durham uncovers a shocking connection to a decades-old cold case in her past.

The twisting path to the truth unleashes an attraction that plunges the high school friends into deeper danger. Now Steve and Allie must outmaneuver an elusive killer in a case where nothing and no one is what they seem…

Titles in the Colby Agency: The Next Generation series include: A Colby Christmas Rescue ~ Alibi for Murder ~ Memory of Murder ~ Witness to Murder ~

This is an adult 18+ story that contains language, possible violence, and/or sexual situations geared to an adult audience.

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