There are times you think you can cope, that you can make it despite the hollow feeling in your chest. Then there are the times when you realize you can’t breathe through the pain of loss.
When Gable Buchanan Carter walks into Athena’s life, it’s like a light is switched on inside her chest. Suddenly she can breathe.
But just as much as she wants him, Gable just as much wants nothing to do with her.
It’s like a cold stab of ice right to the gut at the knowledge that the person you want, that you love, wants nothing to do with you.
At least, that’s what she thinks.
In reality, Gable wants Athena Grace Murphy with every piece of his soul.
But how can he confidently say he’s doing the right thing by bringing her into his life when it’s so dangerous? She’s already lost every person she loves, how can he put her through the possibility of losing one more?
That’s right, he can’t.
So he’ll stay away from her. Even if it kills him.
Lani Lynn Vale is an American author of humorous romantic suspense novels. Born in the Great State of Texas, she has lived the majority of her adult life in East Texas where most of her novels are based. She’s married to her high school sweetheart whom her readers refer to as “LLV’s Bearded Half.” She published her first novel, Boomtown. in the summer of 2013 after the birth of her third child. She’s gone on to publish over 100 novels, with most of them going on to become USA Today Bestsellers.
I read my first book by her last month and was immediately hooked. Rent Free has stayed Rent Free in my brain ever since. The masterful writing style, taut narrative, action packed and fast paced, she didn't let my attention stray and I like that in my authors. Plus her heroines are kick Ass. I was a goner.
So here i am, having just finished my second book. A story about a cop and an emergency dispatcher.
They both meet in veiled circumstances in a biker bar and obviously some nefarious, violent activity happens that has repercussions in both their lives. There's chemistry no doubt, sizzling between Gable and Athena from the first encounter. Age gap doesn't diminish the burning flame of desire between them, even a bit.
"Gable Buchanan Carter walks into Athena’s life, it’s like a light is switched on inside her chest."
A stalker in the background forces them in close proximity, providing a fertile environment for the lusty seeds to grow in full fledged love tree.
There's something super sexy about a cop hero. We know he's alpha, he's buff, he can protect. And even though she takes care of herself without help, sometimes you need a hug or an embrace and that's exactly what she gets. Plus point, she's asian(Japanese descent) so I love when authors include diversity and representation in books.
“Did you know,” I coughed, tasting blood on my tongue. “That when you die, your brain lives for another seven minutes, replaying its best memories?”
“You’ll be in all of those memories.”
But danger is lurking just around the corner, lying in wait to stab their budding relationship. I just loved Athena. She's strong, decisive and survivor. Carter family is all in police business so are around Gable providing support. Athena misses hers but what she finds is far worse. She'd rather not have them, tahn betray her cause they're evil Liars.
I'm on a roll and grabbing all her books and binge-reading them.
5 stars for Sleepy girl with busy life
A small-town, forbidden, standalone, new adult romance with Footloose meets A Star is Born vibes from USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Jewel E. Ann
Her boyfriend’s older brother should be off-limits, but he’s a sinful temptation.
Sarah is a preacher’s daughter and a people pleaser. She’s also on the verge of graduating high school and following her dream of singing in Nashville. The only thing standing in her way is that the entire town of Devil’s Head, Missouri, thinks she will marry Matt, the son of the town’s richest rancher.
But Sarah’s not sure he’s her future husband, especially when his older brother, Isaac, returns home after serving six years in the Army. He has tattoos on his arms and bad habits that are not “father-approved.”
When he’s not working on the ranch or roping at the rodeo, Isaac hangs out in the barn, playing his guitar. He’s trouble, but Sarah's music-loving heart gravitates toward him.
Isaac loves consuming Sarah’s mind, crawling under her skin, backing her into corners, and whispering inappropriate things in her innocent ears.
After weeks of playful banter and guitar lessons blurring the line between right and wrong, Issac makes Sarah a proposition she can’t refuse.
But when the unthinkable happens, and everything she knows is destroyed, will Sarah make the right choice?
Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Amazon: https://amzn.to/45cPTOH
Amazon Worldwide: https://mybook.to/SundayMorning
Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4caMm5y Meet Jewel E. Ann
Jewel is a Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author with a quirky sense of humor. When she's not saving the planet one tree at a time, you can find her role modeling questionable behavior to her three boys, binge-watching Netflix with her
For every girl who couldn't voice their thoughts, their hopes, their aspirations, for the fear of "Rocking The Boat", this book is for YOU. Find your courage in it's pages and go save your drowning boat. What can I say about the prowess of Genius Jewel E.Ann!! Her signature, acute humanspotting sensibilities are splattered all over Captivating prose and charismatic characters have you in their grip from the start. And i can Guarantee, you'd be so engrossed, you'd have to pull an all nighter. If I could give it ALL the STARS, I would. It's truely a Delightful Love Tale that spellbinds you from first page. Even though I'm sick with covid and have a hard time focusing, I Could. Not. Put. The. Book. Down . Jewel is an EXCEPTIONAL storyteller, and this shouldn't have come as a surprise, but I'm always dumbstruck by her absolutely perfectn stories. Over and over again.
“It happened slowly at first, so slowly I didn’t see it. Then it just happened all at once. Taking my breath away. "
Me too Sarahhhh, me too.. You don't even realize how this unassuming, rich with small town fragrance, story envelops your heart and you're gone! Completely under Isaac Cory's spell. His unconditional, uplifting love for Sarah is the stuff perfect book boyfriends are made of. Sarah's family is indebted and reliant on Cory's, so she and Matt are assumed to be together till the wedding. It's an unspoken fact by all including the parents. But a simple turn of events has Isaac returning to hometown of Devil's Head, Missouri, as the Devil Himself. In the church. To entice Sarah.
"I didn’t fall in love with Isaac. I found myself in love with him. In him, I found myself. "
Since the story is set in the 80s, it became all the more special to me. I was Sarah's age in the 80s. Had my first crush. Had my heart broken. Fell in love. Struggled with the definition of right and wrong. Basically I identified with her
"In my head, I was a fearless rebel. I dreamed of breaking all the rules. In reality, I was a good girl with the occasional sinfully brave moment."
The best part about this book was Jewel's fair minded treatment of Matt. He could easily develop a flaw, slip on morality or treatment of Sarah, but he truely does love her, in his own way. It's easy to hate a villain, but falling out of love for no reason, other than that its pulled towards another, was a remarkable piece of writing from jewel
"He loved me more than I loved him. That. Broke. My. Heart. "
The story is about the "Average" underdogs. In life, in love, in careers. who blend in the background, people pleasers, family's secret vaults. They go through life without creating any major ripples. Quietly existing and no one asks them their plans, their dreams. Jewel puts them on a pedestal. The underdogs win the deserved HEA and it's heartening to read.
"Not everything that was right was fair. And not everything that was fair was right. "
I have to mention Isaac here. He's a rebel, but not outspoken. He willingly wears the mantle of a Troublesome truant, but he rescues sarah as his Soulmate. The quiet confidence with which he pursues her, without overt villainous moves was mind-blowing. He just exists as a best option for her, her dreams and her future. The subtlety was amazing to read. My ramblings won't end soon, but you Must Read this book and feel ALL THE FEELS in Caps A Thousand-Calorie Slice of Chocolate Cake
Atlas Carter was a protector. He was a police officer, had spent years in the Air Force, spent his entire teen years as a volunteer firefighter.
Being a protector was in his blood.
It was his dream.
So when a woman was in a dangerous situation, it was his every instinct to protect her. To shield her. To watch over her.
Only, that woman had played him.
She’d set him up.
She’d made sure that he only saw her.
Then, when the real woman who should hold his heart, the sister, comes into his life, he doesn’t see past the hatred of her to know that she’s only trying to protect him in return.
He spends the next year terrorizing the woman who’s supposed to be his. When the dust finally settles, and he can see clearly once again, she’s no longer there waiting for him.
Lani Lynn Vale is an American author of humorous romantic suspense novels. Born in the Great State of Texas, she has lived the majority of her adult life in East Texas where most of her novels are based. She’s married to her high school sweetheart whom her readers refer to as “LLV’s Bearded Half.” She published her first novel, Boomtown. in the summer of 2013 after the birth of her third child. She’s gone on to publish over 100 novels, with most of them going on to become USA Today Bestsellers.
Oh. My. God!! it's easily one of the top 5 books of this year. Totally unique storyline, sorted-sensible characters and witty banter makes it UNFORGETTABLE, MUST READ book ASAP. I'm ashamed to say I'd waited this long to sample Lani's work *what was I thinking**. BUT....but now that I have, I'm addicted. Her writing style is simple but her words hooked into me from page one. A tale of two sisters, completely opposite in nature and demeanour. Sage Solomon is a demon spawn from hell, has been from the day she was born.
"She was a pathological liar. She was an attention seeker. She also went out of her way to make everyone look bad—or at least worse than her."
Pepper Solomon on the other hand is the Good Solomon. Forgiving to a fault, she learns to manouever her life between Sage's lies to escape unscathed with her sanity intact. Thankfully there are lot of good Solomons who corroborate her story and stature. Page has a problem that destroys everyone who comes in contact with her. Case-In-Point - Atlas Carter, the good hearted cop who saves her physically...or so it seems. I won't give away the story anymore because you MUST, MUST read this BRILLIANT book to experience it with fresh eyes and clean mind. The characters grow as the story progresses. There's no juvenile, cheesy misunderstandings cropping up for no reason, there's no misheard-misinterpreted situations. The plot is linear and laid out on full display, which is a fresh approach. It also strengthens the belief and trust in Ms Vale's talent as a seasoned writer. Her humour is high class and some of the finest I've read. Every chapter starts with Secret Thoughts they're Hilarious with rich, witty inner monologue, and also ironically true
"You know what? I’m just gonna say it. Sharks just aren’t eating enough people. —Pepper’s secret thoughts"
I'm seriously in love with Pepper & Atlas and their creator Lani Lynn Vale. Get ready for some serious Fangirling, bordering on obsessive stalking ms vale, because you're now my new favorite author to binge read/listen. 5 stars Everything is figureoutable.
Truly Madly Deeply, an all-new enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine, standalone romance and the first book in the Forbidden Love Series from New York Times bestselling author L.J. Shen is now available!
Conceited, unattainable, and downright delicious, renowned Michelin-starred chef Ambrose Casablancas has one passion in life―food.
Women are a distraction, and he doesn't do those. Especially Cal Litvin, his baby sister's best friend. Her entire existence is a complication; she's awkward, eccentric, infuriating…
And, much to his chagrin, hotter than his kitchen.
Ambrose has a lot on his plate: a new restaurant to open, a multimillion-dollar property deal to execute, and a violent stalker to tame.
Then Cal shows up at his doorstep, looking for both a job and salvation after their messy goodbye. His resolve, like his patience, is ebbing each day she works at his restaurant.
Because Cal is no longer a doe-eyed girl.
Now? She's the woman he'll do anything to conquer.
***
Quirky, compassionate ball of sunshine Calla Litvin can't catch a break, and not just because she swore off running. Back in her hometown to nurse her mother's broken heart after losing her father, she finds herself jobless, hopeless, and penniless. She hopes to rekindle her friendship with her former BFF, but Dylan is attached at the hip to her cruel brother―the one Cal's been secretly crushing on since middle school.
Falling for the bad boy the second time around would be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.
Keep Reading for a look inside Truly, Madly, Deeply!
Age Eighteen
If someone told me an hour ago that I would be pinned beneath Row Casablancas, partially naked and writhing against the hood of his black Mustang, I would have guessed he’d gotten himself into some kind of trouble and had resorted to drugging me and harvesting my organs to make a quick buck.
Row didn’t hate me. He didn’t love me either. I would guesstimate his feelings toward me were somewhere on the spectrum between look at this adorable little moron and shit, I forgot she existed.
I was his baby sister’s best friend. The awkward klutz who suffered from bouts of verbal diarrhea and extremely questionable fashion sense.
Fine. I didn’t suffer from the questionable fashion sense. I owned it. Sue me for celebrating my individuality.
I always figured he liked me in the same way people liked puppies—because they were cute, dumb, and adored the ground you walked on, even if you were a terrible human who peeled clementines in public places. But I digress.
In my defense, Row made it impossible for my adolescent self not to lust after him on account of him: 1) being six foot four inches of lithe, corded muscles, having floppy onyx hair, and a jawline stronger than my lifetime of New Year’s resolutions combined, and 2) having the entire bad-boy vibe down to a T—including a sports car, athletic genes, witty one-liners, a dimpled smirk, and unlaced combat boots with tight-fitting jeans stacked upon them.
To sum it up, he was a morally gray hunk who was a total red flag—my age group’s favorite color scheme. So, yes. Of course I, too, wanted to be ruined by Dylan Casablancas’s older brother. Who didn’t? Our entire high school worshipped at his altar. Fenna McGee once even made a sticker that said, I’m not saying that Row Casablancas and God are the same person—but have you ever seen them in the same room?
Point was, Row’s tongue was currently shoved so far down my throat, we were playing tonsil hockey. His ballistic missile–sized erection pressed against the buttons of my yellow plaid skirt, threatening to snap them and send them past the Milky Way. And all I could think about was how I was doing Dylan dirty.
Bile coated the back of my throat. Dylan hated it when her friends fell at her brother’s feet. She’d make gagging sounds every time someone we knew flirted with him, which made what was happening right now completely inexcusable. But I was semi-drunk, exceptionally raw, and uncharacteristically reckless. Plus…Dylan was so used to seeing Row ruining her friends like it was an Olympic sport, what was adding one more into the mix?
I was also a people pleaser, and I really wanted to please Row. So I made complimentary moaning sounds I’d learned from the Pornhub University of Fake Orgasms. This included head lolling, enthusiastic panting, and girly gasps.
Row took this as an invitation to move to second base, coiling his calloused fingers around the front of my throat and flattening me against the hood of his car. The hood still exuded heat from the engine, and I wondered if I’d sport second-degree burns tomorrow morning. My butt cheeks were squeezed together to accommodate his lean waist between my thighs, my heartbeat thrashing against my eyelids like an angry woodpecker.
We were parked on a rocky cliff overlooking the glacial-tipped Maine mountains. The ocean stretched like a tight, black sheet across the horizon. The briny scent floated into my nostrils, and goose bumps coated my arms.
It felt so good and yet so wrong, I didn’t know whether to burst into giggles, tears, or flames.
Stop this right now, Cal. Dylan is going to strangle you.
Actually, my BFF was more the type to steal my clothes and go on a killing spree. Dylan Casablancas was creative, innovative, and delightfully hilarious. I loved her so much. She deserved better than this.
Row’s hand snuck under my beige turtleneck and my yellow plaid vest, cupping my left boob as his mouth trailed along my jaw, leaving wet, hot kisses in its wake, making my spine tingle. His lips were sinful, his tousled hair as soft as silk between my greedy fingers.
Dammit, I’m only human.
We were grinding against each other, and I was in awe of how different his body was from mine. Hard to my soft. Tall to my short. Tan to my pale. He was doing everything right. The way he swirled his tongue over my sensitive spots, drawing happy whimpers from me. The way his thumb rubbed the tip of my hard nipple, making it tingly and sensitive and desperate for more, felt like some kind of dark magic.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.”
What a terribly un-asshole-y thing to say. Then again, Row never directed his infinite wrath at me. Probably because I was like a sister to Dylan.
There was a bonfire happening in the moorlands below the cliff where we were parked. A farewell bash for us seniors before we all scattered away to our respective colleges. Row had dropped by to pick Dylan up—he was in town for a couple weeks, visiting from his fancy culinary school in Paris—but Dylan had wanted to stick around a little longer. Meanwhile, I’d wanted to go home, eat pickled eggs, and binge-watch Riverdale.
Yet we’d ended up on the notorious Make-out Mountain, where couples went to lose their virginity, and sometimes lacy thongs, without being interrupted.
Row and I were friendly. He was always protective of me. I’d asked him to drive up to the cliff so I could take one last look at the ocean before I moved to New York. I definitely hadn’t planned on attacking his mouth with mine like a rabid raccoon when we’d both stared at the yolky sun crawling up the sky.
Yet…it had happened. It had happened, and now I was in his arms, the cold recipient of his kisses and licks and roaming hands. I froze, yet again feeling guilty about Dylan. She’d forgive me, surely. It wasn’t like he was her boyfriend.
Row ripped his mouth from my skin, staring me down through a disapproving scowl. “Are you still alive?”
“Hmm-mm.”
“Should I stop?” His fingers immediately loosened around my waist and back, and I suddenly remembered what had made me want to have sex with him in the first place.
“No!” I wrenched him closer and pressed my lips to his, doubling down on that rabid-wildlife conduct. “You…you can’t stop.” But maybe he should? My mind and my body were definitely not in sync.
“Sure I can.” His mouth moved over mine again, his voice velvet and smoke. “Consent is a real thing. Google it.” I was blushing so furiously, it was a medical miracle my head didn’t explode. His mouth grinned against mine, teeth grazing my bottom lip. “Fuck. You’re so sweet. So innocent. I want to eat you out.”
“I want to eat you out too.” Wait, what? That didn’t sound right. Having social anxiety and literally zero filters when I was nervous sucked.
“Do you, now?” I could hear the smirk in his smartass tone.
Dammit, Cal. “Not, in, like, a cannibalistic way—”
“Show me, then. Use plenty of examples. I’m a slow learner.” He growled, deepening our kiss. Our teeth brushed together, and a wave of pleasure rolled along my spine. My skin was cold, but my insides were ablaze. I pushed my palm against his groin over his black jeans. I couldn’t believe I was touching him, really touching the guy who literally made women melt into a pool of hormones just by glancing at him.
He ripped his mouth from mine, eyeballing me hard. We stared at each other, panting. I had no idea what I was doing.
For more information about L.J. Shen and her books, visit her website:
Flawless. Layered. Redemptive, shen slays the reader hearts with this Must Read romance of this year. She does the best AlphaHole-GoodHeart heroes. The torture and the angst she builds up with reigniting smoldering Embers of lost love, creates a tension that is waiting to explode. Nobody and I mean NOBODY Can pen bully romance better than Shen. Her quick witted pen is sharp and scathing when creating broken characters. This has to be one of her top books as she starts a newForbidden Love series. Her heroines aren't shrinking violets, or forlorn divas. They get angry. They get smart. They get even. When Cal returns home for her father's funeral, and sees two of her arch nemesis..TOGETHER. Her Ex best friend - Dylan & Her Ex Crush, Dylan older brother - Ambrose aka Ro. Imagine the turmoil, the toll it takes on her heart. Her old life she left behind and the town she left in humiliation, is in her face again. She's mortified yet brave faced to tackle everything head n with dignity and grace. This scene took my adoration of Cal to another top level. Meanwhile Ro has had spectacular culinary success of his own. Spotlight, fame, riches...he's tasted them all, while his heart sits in darkness, lonely and despondent. He doesn't know it yet, but he fell for her first and never fell out. He's still THERE!!. The second chance sparks the chemistry back to life and both of them can feel he current flowing through them. Yet ego sometimes casts a shadow and while they're in a Indian stared own standoff...hearts keep feeling the magnetic pull This story has been a Rollercoaster, wild ride of emotions and I've loved every minute of it, screaming with angst and laughing in joy. ALL my sentiments came out of my eyes or my smiles. Ms shen wrung us dry as this book comes to an end. I want to dive back in again, not wanting to leave Staindrop 5 vulnerable stars
