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Showing posts from January, 2018

seriously romantic: runaway groom by lauren layne

i have to say, the books that i've read recently that have taken place in a setting like this: fake reality show, have really worked for me. take the lead  and the theory of second best  were both really fun reads. i like the tension the reality show enviroment creates. the weirdness of the relationships that develop, and the weird truth that somehow you can get to the heart of who someone is when you put them in a setting like that.  runaway groom  hits all the right boxes for me. gage bennett is not your standard hollywood jerk. he made a bet, and he's facing the consequences by letting this jilted thing play out. he just doesn't expect to be so charmed by one of the contestants. especially since she keeps insisting that she just wants to go home.  ellie only came on the show because she wanted exposure for her t-shirt company. gage wasn't supposed to keep her. she wasn't supposed to find him charming. and real. she thought gage would be just the movie st

slightly silly riverdale update

whoops! i don't know what happened, but i totally missed that riverdale was already back from its winter hiatus. so i will catch up on the last two episodes and get back into the swing of things over the next week. from the trailers looks like things are getting pretty crazy and angsty and full of ridiculousness just the way i love my teenage dramas.

seriously romantic: the bastard's bargain by katee robert

i saw arcs were out on twitter and literally ran to netgalley in order to get my hands on this book. i came in to the o’malley series late, book 4 was the first glimpse i had of this family. and keira and dmitri’s story has been percolating since at least then. i’ve been dying for more of them. to be honest, i found them to be the most compelling thing about aiden and charlie’s story, and i was hoping that when they finally had a chance to shine in the bastard’s bargain that i wouldn’t be disappointed. and i’m not. keira and dmitri are everything. what develops between them is raw and carnal and wanton. the way they need each other and the way they connect is beyond sexy. it’s something deep and dark and heartbreakingly beautiful. gorgeous broken keira means more to dmitri than he’s willing to admit at first. he can’t bear to see her destroy herself, so he will save her even as she fights him on it. she’s so tired of being a pawn, caged in by people claiming to protect her wit

strictly literary: the grave's a fine and private place by alan bradley

our intrepid crime-solver and connoisseur of poisons par excellence is back and ready for trouble. grieving the loss of her father, the grave's a fine and private place , kicks of with flavia on her deathbed. or really on a boating trip with dogger and her sisters. unlike previous installments of the series, this time when they happen upon a dead body everyone is on hand to solve the crime. the deepened relationship between the sisters, and the increaased maturity of flavia's outlook allows the series to grow in an organic way, while maintaining those traits that make her so quintessentially flavia. the wit the humor and the precociousness of our young detective is as enjoyable as always. this is a series that can go on as long as bradley wishes to write them, because every chance i have to spend some quality time with flavia and the de luce family, i'm pretty happy. **the grave's a fine and private place will publish on january 30, 2018. i received an advance rea

seriously romantic: wallflower most wanted by manda collins

the third book in the studies in scandal series,  wallflower most wanted , has miss sophia hastings falling off a cliff in front of lord benedick lisle. he's the county vicar and a duke's son, and nothing like mr. collins from pride & prejudice. something the characters very kindly point out and is just the kind of detail i love.  sophia and ben get caught up in a plot to find some murderous art forgers and there are a lot of red herrings, because the real villain of the piece is a true surprise.  ben is such a steady, level-headed presence. he’s not some close-minded pastor and is liberal enough to accept and understand sophia’s art. it speaks to him in a way that lets him understand the woman she is. and that happens to be someone he wants to have a future with. there’s not a lot f drama between them, and that’s okay, because they have this really sweet romantic story.  and now i’m kind of hoping we see something develop between gemma, sophia’s sister and the last remai

seriously romantic a scandal by any other name by kimberly bell

the tale of two sisters duet concludes with julia and jasper's story, a scandal by any other name . julia is not your average victorian heroine. she's bold and ahead of her time in some ways, yes, but she's also very spoiled and deeply sheltered. she's also disabled. she has what is described as an exposed spine condition, one that we know today as spina bifida occulta. an indomitable spirit is the best way to describe her. she knows the limits of her condition. she's been aware her whole life that due to a condition of birth outside of her control she is destined to live life in the outer edges. but julia doesn't belong in the outer edges. she's so vivacious and bright in spite of everything. so when jasper de vere first encounters her and doesn't immediately notice her issues, she decides to pretend to be someone else. he flirts with her, and no one ever looks at her with interest. so she convinces the household to pretend she is lady juniper fai

simply all about true storm - a cover reveal

Let us know what you think of the cover for True Storm (True Born Trilogy, #3) by L.E. Sterling, which releases May 1, 2018! This cover reveal is brought to you by Entangled Teen.

seriously romantic: a devil in scotland by suzanne enoch

in a devil in scotland , callum macreath never thought he'd lose rebecca to his brother. she was his best friend. the only woman he could ever imagine loving. and when she not only confirms her engagement, but also repudiates callum for the wild and irresponsible boy he is, he is devastated. when his brother casts him out when callum's anger leaves him no option, he leaves his highland home and heads to america. ten years later he is a self-made man in the kentucky hills. he's cut himself off entirely from his past life in the highlands. but when a headline reveals that his brother is dead, and he is the next in line for the earldom, he has no choice but to head home. it's not a warm and pleasant homecoming. callum distrusts everyone. he knows his brother was murdered. and he's just not sure that rebecca wasn't in on it. he's still hurt and angry from the words they exchanged ten years ago. but when he meets his niece, his heart cracks open. and everythi

simply all about bring me their hearts - a cover reveal

In a new series Publishers Weekly has listed as “one of the most anticipated YA's of 2018”, we're excited to share the cover for Bring Me Their Hearts ! NYT bestselling author Sara Wolf delivers a fast-paced, gritty fantasy sure to thrill fans of Holly Black, Sabaa Tahir, and Sarah J. Maas.

superbly suspenseful: zero hour by megan erickson

zero hour   kicks of a new romantic suspense series by megan erickson. roarke brennan and his ace team of hackers are out for revenge and find themselves wrapped up in a plot that will pit them against the baddest of the bad. among the highly skilled people roarke has recruited is wren lee. the one girl he's always been in love with. and the one girl that he's always been convinced deserved better than him. he's idolized her for so long he's not quite sure how to handle the real thing. wren is smart and strong and has secrets. he thinks he knows all her secrets. but he doesn't. and this realization forces him to look at her differently. and suddenly she's not the unattainable woman he's dreamed of. she's flesh and bone and pure sex appeal. and she's his. so even as their whole revenge scheme goes to pieces, that's the one constant. she is his. he is hers. somehow with all the crazy they'll make it work. **zero hour will publish on

seriously romantic: hidden seams by alessandra torre

usually, when there's a fake relationship story, you see it play out over the course of the novel and the characters fall in love. sometimes, you see the fake relationship of opposite genders, where the girl is straight and the guy is gay and things get complicated when she meets someone she can really love. but in hidden seams  the fake relationship scenario is even more complicated. marco agreed to be vince's fake lover over ten years ago. he was young and wanted a chance in the fashion indusry. and even though he was clearly not gay, vince horace, famous and falmboyantly gay fashion designer, wanted him to pretend to be his partner. and marco agreed. he had everything to gain and nothing to lose by the pretense. he never cared what anyone thought of him. working in fashion most people already assumed he was gay. and then vince dies. and this is where things are complicated. you don't spend a decade with someone and not have an intimate relationship. it wasn't a s

strictly literary: wicked charm by amber hart

there's something creepy going on with the swamp. dead girls are being found and they're somehow connected to willow bell's wicked neighbor beau caldwell. but the more time willow spends with beau, that pull she feels when her gaze gets caught up in his, has her convinced that something else must be going on. the way wicked charm  uses its setting to build up the tension and overall aura of terror is absolute perfection. the characters are interesting and well-drawn, the twists to the murder mystery plot aren't spotted from a mile away, which is always key. i really enjoyed this story and loved spending time with these characters, creepy swamp and dead bodies and all. **wicked charm will publish on january 30, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (entangled teen) in exchange for my honest review. 

simply all about the curse by harper a. brooks - a cover reveal

soulmates and curses and werewolves and blue moons figure heavily into the cursed . keep reading for a sneak peek of the cover and some book info...

something from the archives: stranded - part 2

catch up with part 1 here. part 2 continues after the jump...

seriously romantic: should've been you by nicole mclaughlin

the latest entry in the man enough series, should've been you , turns the best friends-to-lovers trope on its ear a bit. jase and hannah have been best friends since they were teenagers. they've been there for each other in every important moment, except in spite of all the love, there's never been sex between them. jase realizes that in some ways they are holding each other back, it's easy to avoid looking for something permanent if you have this emotional crutch to fall back on. hannah's twin sister, becca has always been the one he's been drawn to. even though she's always seemed to treat him with a frostiness he never understood. for becca, the frostiness is a defense mechanism, because the truth is becca has been in love with jase forever and he's always been hannah's. when they realize that hannah manipulated them as teenagers, they start to explore the real feelings between them. but becca's ex-boyfriend and hannah's neediness in

seriously romantic: off limits by clare connelly

harlequin's new imprint, dare, launched this year and off limits h appens to be one of the new offerings. like the now-defunct blaze line it is steamier than standard harlequin romances, but the vibe is different. this might be due to the alternating first-person povs, which isn't the norm for most harlequin categories. i haven't read other books in this particular line, so i can't say if it's happening imprint-wide, but it felt worth noting that it does feel different from blaze, which was an imprint i was sad to see close up shop. because it was the imprint i read the most of. anyway, so jack is a widower who has basically sworn off love. and gemma is his in-house counselor who is essentially his right-hand woman. and she's half in love with him. but she knows what a bad idea it is to get mixed up with him. so she keeps him at arm's length. and it's been years of this. and then they're at a party and she accidentally makes him jealous and ev

simply all about hiding lies by julie cross - a cover reveal

Let us know what you think of the cover for Hiding Lies (Eleanor Ames, #2) by NYT bestselling author Julie Cross, which releases April 17, 2018! This cover reveal is brought to you by Entangled Teen.

seriously romantic: my scot, my surrender by amalie howard and angie morgan

all brandt pierce was after was a horse. instead he gets a kiss, a wife, and a crazed englishman chasing him all over scotland. he will still get the horse at the end. and he holds onto that as all sorts of crazy invades his existence. speaking of crazy, he's kind of secretly crazy about his wife. sorcha maclaren is known as the beast of the maclaren's due to an encounter with a wolf when she was a child that left her scarred. she wears her scars proudly, refusing to hide when people would deride her appearance. this doesn't mean that she isn't sensitive to them. the scars on her face are "nicer" than the ones on her chest. and none of her scars seem to bother brandt who is the first person outside her family that she's ever felt actually sees her. but brandt insists that their marriage remain temporary. he feels he has nothing to give the daughter of a duke. he's the bastard son of a stablemaster. but when a reclusive monk reveals the first soli

seriously romantic: a choice of fate by jezz de silva

we met jarrah harper and olivia williams in against all odds , and now they have their chance to find true love in a choice of fate . both jarrah and olivia are career-driven, compassionate people. they have worked hard to achieve their goals. jarrah is a highly successful lawyer in brisbane, australia. olivia has just completed her fellowship and is ready to start her medical career as the lead neurologist at a los angeles hospital. when they meet up to go to wingarra, jarrah's hometown in the midst of the australian outback, they don't expect to find themselves torn asunder by their desire for each other and their life goals. there is absolutely no question that jarrah and olivia are crazy about each other. they are a perfect match in every way. they challenge each other, and lift one another up and knock them down when necessary. the only thing they absolutely need to figure out is how to make the time, the distance and their crazy careers work while loving each other.

seriously romantic: let it be me by jody holford

in let it be me   megan carter has been adam klein's nanny for 6 years, but now that she's finished her education degree she's ready to move on. which is why it's inconvenient that she's suddenly seeing her boss in an entirely new, different, too sexy light. she's always cared for him, he's a good father to his son charlie, and a good employer even if he's demanding. but now that she's leaving he seems to be asking more of her. going so far to ask her to help him find a wife to replace megan's place in their lives. this is an insane request, but megan can't help wishing he would look at her as a possibility. but megan wants romance and love and adam has been there, done that and wants something stable and rational. he's not wrong to want those things, but what he fails to see is that even if you don't call something love, it can still be love. and megan needs to learn to trust that it's not just what someone says, it's

seriously romantic: wicked times two by tina donahue

the wicked brand series continues with jasmina's story in wicked times two . burned by her ex, she's not looking for anything serious. what she's looking for is something different. something a little bit risky, but oh-so-rewarding. noah and kyle have been best friends and partners for a long time. their interest in jasmina is undeniable, but they aren't sure she'd be interested in them together. but when they test the waters and find her more willing than they could have imagined, everything escalates pretty quickly. jasmina is still scared of long-term commitment, and she doesn't see how anything involving the three of them could be long-term, so she agrees to share a relationship with them for one month. noah and kyle both know that they want more than that from jasmina. even if they aren't entirely sure how it's all going to work, they know that they can. because there is love and pleasure and commitment and trust all wrapped up in it. they j

something from the archives: stranded - part 1

Title: Stranded Author: Eva aka etoile1 Disclaimer: I own nada Category: Michael and Liz Rating: NC-17 Summary: Born out of a little fantasy with mechanic Michael, it evolved to become Liz gets stranded in the desert with no one to help but mechanic Michael.

seriously romantic: until you're mine by cindi madsen

cindi madsen kicks off her new mma series, fighting for her, with until you're mine . set at an mma training gym run by the roth family, shane knox is the newest member on team domination and he has a lot to prove. as a rookie he had moved up the mma ranks, only to start losing fights when his personal life imploded just before he reached the top. now things are settled, but he finds himself having to start at the bottom. and falling for brooklyn roth, his trainer's baby sister is not going to help him climb higher. brooklyn wants nothing to do with the mma world. she's been there, done that. cocky mma fighters who can't keep it in their pants are a risk not worth taking. and if she weren't a genius with numbers, and her family weren't on the verge of losing their gym, and if her brother hadn't managed to guilt her into coming back for the summer she wouldn't be stuck trying to avoid spending time with shane. because in spite of everything she sa

seriously romantic: crazy love by kendra c. highley

crazy love is a sequel of sorts to defying gravity . but given the characters' ages, the story has a different feel. luke madison has come home a semester short of finishing his business degree at asu. he lives and breathes snowboardcross and has a chance to make the national team and the olympics, but only if he focuses on his training. charlotte understands about needing to focus, she has one last shot at passing her mcat's and getting into medical school. growing up dealing with a mom who suffers from multiple sclerosis, all she knows is that she wants to heal people. charlotte tries not to be distracted by luke, but when he comes to her rescue when some jerk patrons of the diner she's spending her winter break at try a dine-and-dash it becomes impossible to ignore him. not only is he getting his meals comped for being a hero, he's also funny and nice and not at all who she assumed he would be. luke used to be the guy charlotte thinks he is. but he wants to

strictly literary: a treacherous curse by deanna raybourn

veronica and stoker are at it again in a treacherous curse . this time stoker's past has them all caught up in a mysterious disappearance, and we finally learn more about stoker's disastrous first marriage and what happened on the fateful expedition that cost him his reputation and marked his body forever. it's his former best friend who has disappeared. the man who married his ex-wife. and considering the acrimony between them, he's been declared scotland yard's most likely suspect. unwilling to have stoker's reputation further blackened or to face the strong likelihood that the royal family will intervene in their partnership, veronica sets herself on the task of figuring out what went wrong with the egyptian expedition that preceded the disappearance. with her trademark wit and her staunch lack of squeamishness veronica carefully pulls apart all the tangled threads of this web of lies and murder and mystery. but this particular mystery reveals more to v

seriously romantic: can't let her go by sandy james

the nashville dreams series continues with can't let her go , where ethan walker finds that as much as chelsea harris is everything he says he doesn't want in a woman she's his dream come true. she's a true star in a town full of them. and ethan has some serious issues coming in second to celebrity. from the get-go their relationship is fraught. because too many people in ethan's life have approached him to catch a shard of his parent's star power. while chelsea plans to use it for good, at first she just another in a long line of takers. but chelsea proves that she's more than a bubble-headed celebtriy. she's grounded in real in ways he's never seen. not even his parents were ever that real. so he doesn't trust it and doesn't know how to handle it. and chelsea struggles with keeping ethan away from the trappings of her fame. she knows all to well that he doesn't want it. but performing and singing is her calling. and while he doesn

superbly suspenseful: deadly deception by marissa garner

deadly deception  picks up detective sean burke's story (we met him in book one of the rogue security series, risky redemption ). unlike the first book, the events in deadly deception  are told in a more straightforward manner. but there are plenty of twists and turns with the central mystery. sean burke is back in ramona, ca as part of a mandatory leave of absence after his off the book actions in risky redemption.  the last thing he expects is to run into jessica hargrove, the woman who shattered his heart eight years ago. even more bizarre is the fact that everyone seems to be angry with him, when she was the one who dumped him. but jessica's family is in trouble. her mother is missing. her brother is less than reliable. her stepfather is behaving strangely. her ex-husband is back in town and demanding custody of their daughter. and sean's presence is unwelcome except for the fact that he seems to be the only person interested in searching for leads in her mother&#

seriously romantic: cake at midnight by jessie l. star

giovanna, zoë and declan have been friends through the worst and roughest childhood years. gio's aunt aggie's homey apartment has provided them all with safe haven. and it makes sense why giovanna would fall for declan. except this isn't a friends-to-lovers story. and when declan says he doesn't feel that way about gio he means it. except he's also a giant jerk who proceeds to take advantage of gio's feelings in the worst possible way. and when gio is forced to face his bad behavior she goes about cutting him out of her life. and suddenly the hot guy across the hall starts playing a larger role in her life than the guy who scowls and nods at her in the morning. theo has his reasons for trying to not get involved, but giovanna's warmth and sweet nature get under his skin. and when she begins to spend time with him, he finds it's not a distraction, but rather moments to be savored to cure some of his loneliness. he has a lot of good reasons for cutti

seriously romantic: sweet attraction by melanie munton

it was supposed to be one night of letting all inhibitions go and just letting  sweet attraction   rule the moment. but when jade hollingsworth walks into her flaky contractor’s office and comes face to face with her one night stand she can’t help feeling punished. hunter sparks didn’t want to give up the storefront job, his evil ex-girlfriend basically blackmailed him into it. and it would be one thing if he’d woken up from their tryst anxious to run off, but he hadn’t. instead he found himself alone and disappointed and thrilled that she’s going to be putting down roots in shell grove.  and since he’s actually a really good guy who happens to be interested in jade he goes about making amends. and soon the incredible sparks that flared between them that night at the bar ignite into something real and deep. this is some seriously sexy small town romance and i have to say i liked it.  **sweet attraction will publish on january 15, 2018. I received an advance reader copy cou

seriously romantic: unsolicited advice by melinda di lorenzo

heidi bluthe is tired of cheaters and would be cheaters asking for advice on getting a free pass. she's tired of the betrayed wives looking for excuses. the truth is her secret identity of miss anonymous, advice columnist for between the sheets has become something of a trap. when a strange man shows up at her house insisting that she's ruined his life and needs to fix it with a retraction, she's equal parts terrified and stunned into agreement. she doesn't leave her house. not unless she has a plan. not unless she has a lot of time to prepare. and even then, most of the time she stays home. for all the advice she doles out to the masses of cheaters and emotionally needy, she's kind of a mess. william rutherford knows his plan is crazy. but he's decided to take life by the horns and live it to the fullest. he has a bucket list of things he needs to do and he needs heidi to do them with him. but she's not what he expected. and as he pushes her out of he

seriously romantic: scoring with the wrong twin by naima simone

sophia has always been the "ugly" one when compared to her model identical twin. she's curvier and nerdier and has piercings and an edgy look that is more punk than mainstream. but when giovanna begs sophia to take her place at a calendar shoot so she can go to a show in milan, she begrudgingly agrees. she doesn't know that she will be paired with zephirin black, the league's hottest tight end. and she had no clue that the explosion of chemistry between them would be something mutual. and even worse, she has no way to be honest with him about her identity because she refuses to screw things up with her sister. if only zeph didn't have massive trust issues and have a thing about honesty. sophia tries to keep things professional. and when that doesn't work she tries to keep it to one night. and then when she can't stay away she figures she might as well hold on to every moment she can before it blows up in her face. and zeph will need to work out

something from the archives: all of me

Summary: More post-breakup angstiness/darkness Companion piece to “In the Shadows”, but can be read on its own. Warning: This is particularly dark. Dedication: To Leila, who has loved Spike from the get-go.

seriously romantic: the billionaire's unexpected baby by kira archer

when leah meets brooks in the billionaire's unexpected baby   she's already four months pregnant with another man's baby. amazingly this is never really a problem for brooks. he never flinches or hesitates. when he tracks her down as she's moving into her new apartment and possibly losing her job due to her pregnancy, he impulsively offers to marry her. so in the span of a month, he's married and on the path to fatherhood. it's supposed to be temporary. enough to buy leah some time to settle into her new job without the threat of being fired. but the time they spend together is real. the relationship they have together is real. and it's complicated by this baby that they both adore and the fact that the baby daddy is someone brooks knows and massively dislikes. i really loved the first book in this series. and this is definitely a different take on the surprise baby trope. leah and brooks are both really great characters, their biggest problem is that

seriously romantic: besting the billionaire by alison aimes

alexander kazankov has been determined to bring down winslow industries for years. now that winslow himself is dead, and his widow has been appointed the interim ceo he sees his chance. but lily isn't the bubble-headed trophy wife he assumes her to be. and for all the damage her former husband inflicted on people, on his own family, he's still her savior. besting the billionaire  becomes a battle of wills between lily and alexi, it's a battle for dominance and a battle against the attraction that sparks up between them every time they are in a room together. soon alexi finds himself at a crossroads. destroying winslow industries means destroying the future lily has clawed her way out of hell for. but not destroying it breaks a promise he made to his dead fiancée and her mother, his surrogate mother. each of these women he holds in his heart, and betraying one of them is going to tear him apart. but when he makes his choice, it's for love. and love can only reap wo

seriously romantic: fake wife by stacey lynn

corbin lane needs a wife. so when he is rear-ended by teagan monroe, who happens to be having the worst day of her life, he sees an opportunity to solve both their problems. and while corbin's offer is insane, teagan's in no position to refuse. so in fake wife , corbin and teagan find themselves committed to something they've agreed won't last. but the more time they spend with each other, the more they realize that the initial spark of attraction can ignite into something more. it can be real and lasting and everything. corbin is all in pretty early on. he's certainly wary of commitment, but he recognizes that his feelings for teagan are more than just friendly. he wants her to share his life. he wants to make her dreams come true. he thinks she could be his true partner, someone who supports him and gets him through the hard days. teagan on the other hand is a wreck. her self-esteem is so low, a cheating ex-fiance would do that. and she can't figure o

seriously romantic: #starstruck by sariah wilson

when chase covington, academy award-winning heartthrob and hollywood elite responds to one of zoe miller's tweets she doesn't really believe he's actually responding to her. but then he keeps replying. and then he finds out more about her. and he still responds. and zoe, who has had a crush on chase since she was twelve doesn't quite know what to make of this. in part because zoe is pathologically introverted. her offbeat upbringing made it difficult to open up to others. and trusting people to like her for her, it's a challenge. especially since she also happens to be celibate. this book spends a lot of time talking about zoe's choice to wait for marriage. although you have to give chase credit, even though he is clearly attracted to zoe and wants to do more than just kiss her, he's incredibly respectful and supportive of her choice. and even when she pushes him to the brink, he is the one who knows to pull back. chase is pretty much the sweetest gu

seriously romantic: bargaining with the boss by jennifer shirk

kinsley has a thing about dating co-workers. given that her last relationship with one ended in a canceled wedding and losing her job, she thinks they are a terrible idea. so when the guy she hits on at her friend's wedding turns out to be her boss, she's beyond mortified. because she needs to be on her game bargaining for the livelihood of her family's hotel and not worried about what happened after she blacked out from all the tequila. bargaining with the boss  is a charming contemporary. damon is bemused by kinsley and the small new jersey beach town he finds himself in. it's a far cry from the flash and glamour of manhattan. and more than that, he's incredibly drawn to kinsley and the creative and inventive way she gets things done. at the same time, he's also weighed down by this intense feeling of inferiority and guilt that he believes makes him a bad bet in the long-term relationship department. this is baggage he needs to handle before he can be th

seriously romantic: the crown prince's bride by donna alward

stephani has been in love with raoul for far longer than she should have. he was married to her cousin cecilia after all. and since ceci's death steph has been by his side, supporting him in all things, and it's suddenly become too much. she wants marriage and babies and love. and right now all she does is work for the palace. she knows and understands how heartbroken raoul is. but when the attraction that flares between them can no longer be denied, when for the first time she isn't fading into the background, the hope that they have a chance at something real is almost too much to bear. and there is something between them. something beautiful and unexpected. she loves raoul with her whole heart. and even if it's not fair to ask him, she wants him to love her that way too. but raoul has had too much loss. his mother, his wife, and he doesn't know if he can stand to lose stephani too. but when the unexpected pushes them out of their comfort zone, it's ho

seriously romantic: lions and tigers and boys by tawny stokes

strange things are afoot at the oswald zinzendorf school of circus arts, for one thing dani gale is pretty sure she saw a tiger roaming the grounds on the day of her arrival. she can't quite put her finger on why things seem strange, like the clairvoyant dean vasilev, and the odd undercurrents of power she feels when she crosses paths with maggie west. the truth is that in l ions and tigers and boys   there are strange things afoot. cai coppersmith has lived at oz since his guardian frank took a job caring for ozzy and loki, the school's resident tiger and lion. although actually, cai and leander also happen to be the school's resident tiger and lion. currently they're working on a special project with professor marvel, one who's goal is to lure the evil wizard out of hiding in order to discover what happened to marvel's wife, glinda. and if all these names sound familiar it's because this is a well-executed wizard of oz   meets harry potter  type mash

seriously romantic: love between enemies by molly e. lee

the first 20% of love between enemies i was so anxious and upset and stressed about the huge misunderstanding between the two leads that i wasn't sure i'd be able to keep reading. what triggers the discord between gordon and zoey comes down to their sense of pride and their intense competitiveness. they've always been pitted against each other. and they are so wrapped up in trying to win and outdo and outlast each other that they've forgotten that they have reasons and feelings and emotions and goals wrapped up in all of this too. when gordon loses out to zoey on a scholarship that is essential to his ability to attend his dream school—one that he thought she wasn't going for, one that he believes she doesn't need given her family's wealth and his family's lack of it—he feels utterly betrayed. and he takes it out on her in the most public and hurtful of ways. so zoey comes up with the perfect revenge. but when her plot requires she spend some one

something from the archives: in the shadows

it's a new year and after the long, journey that was say goodbye, i thought i'd switch things up. every once in a while i would write some non-polar fan fiction. this one is actually not even roswell -related. i was also a huge buffy, the vampire slayer fan, and of course, i was a spike/buffy shipper. i've heard the arguments for and against their pairing and i understand why people love angel. but i just never did. as a character spike seemed richer and more complex. and the relationship between him and buffy was darker and more complicated. anyway, this is an angsty one-parter. (with a bonus sequel scene to post next week) Category: Buffy/Spike Spoilers: After "As You Were", includes spoilers from Hell's Bells Summary: After their break-up, both Buffy and Spike think about each other.

strictly literary: busted by gina ciocca

marisa has boundless curiosity coupled with a strong sense of moral outrage. when she catches her best friend's boyfriend kissing another girl she gets the evidence and shares the info. when her former bff/frenemy kendall hears about this, she decides to recruit marisa into spying on her boyfriend tj. even though most people in marisa's life are against her reconnecting with kendall, marisa also has a lot of empathy and is willing to give people second chances even if they aren't deserved. one of my favorite things about busted , is that even as you know that marisa isn't working with the full story, you get where she is coming from. so when she makes mistakes and misjudges situations you can't help but forgive her because it all comes from a good place. she is so darn likable. as marisa gets mixed up with kendall, tj and templeton school politics, she realizes that there is way more going on beneath the surface. and as she works everything out, she finds he

strictly literary: pretty dead girls by monica murphy

pretty dead girls is mean girls meets scream in the best way possible. somebody is targeting the members of the larks, an exclusive after school club at cape bonita prep. penelope is president of the club, and all the dead girls have some connection to her one way or another. the story unfolds mainly through her point of view, though we do also get occasional glimpses of the killer's perspective. this is a true thriller and there are plenty of plot twists and red herrings that explaining more of the story would be a disservice. mostly this is a fun, suspense-filled read. i had to struggle to not skip to the end to find out who the killer was, because i'm the kind of person who hates surprises and loves spoilers, even though i also like it when an author can surprise me. if you can hold out, it's worth waiting for the big reveal. i really, really enjoyed this novel. **pretty dead girls will publish on january 2, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of

seriously romantic: dangerous promise by megan hart

i hadn't read a megan hart book in a while, but i'm so glad i picked up the protector series. set in a not so distant future where a team of soldiers have been artificially enhanced and their status is politicized, dangerous promise , brings together one of the super soldiers and the man who ensured that there would be no further enhancements. nina didn't ask to be experimented on, but she'd signed away the rights to her dead body when she'd joined the army. she just never expected them to use it in a manner that had her come back to life. and she doesn't hate her life as one of the enhanced. she just wishes that the law wouldn't forbid the upgrades her body needs in order to survive. because the truth of the matter is that she's running on borrowed time. ewan may be the chief proponent of legislation against enhancements, but he's also the man who came up with the technology. it's just that he didn't realize the ethical problems until

seriously romantic: the rogue is back in town by anna bennett

youngest sister juliette gets her happily ever after in the third installment of the wayward wallflowers series, the rogue is back in town . kicked out by his brother and asked to evict a family from a rundown home his brother claims to own, samuel travis thinks nothing of the task. that is, until he is faced with juliette lacey and her determination not to leave the house she has always called home. frustrated at first, sam is quickly beguiled by juliette, she is a woman who will forever keep him on his toes, but who clearly enjoys the hint of wickedness in sam's manner. from the first they flirt and bicker. and soon they can't stop thinking of the other. and then staying away from each other proves to be a problem. but the bigger problem is sam's brother. the marquess of curringham proves to be quite the villain. he does his best to turn sam and juliette against each other. using insinuations and half-truths to mask his true intentions. in the end, he either wants j