definitely, possibly, maybe

this short holiday novel is a second chance story that suffers a bit in the short format but proves enjoyable in spite of that. justin's life is falling apart right in time for christmas. when he shows up at his parents' house and encounters his ex-best friend, elliot, also known as the guy who broke his heart. it's weird because at times in the story it seems like they were clearly together, but at other times it seems like it was something they shared on the down-low, but i'm not sure why? because they were both out to their families. anyway, they broke up for #reasons. and then lost touch for #reasons. mainly because elliot ghosted justin. and now that they've run into each other he seems like he might want to change things, but justin is really the one to keep reaching out. and that's where the story suffers, because elliot's reasons and motivations are not entirely clear. and the obstacles feel so contrived. but it's still sweet when the charact

the wicked villains series continues with learn my lesson , and dominant hades, of the puppet-master brand of controlling bastards, orchestrates a scene, a gift for his right-hand woman, megara, the only woman in his heart, the yin to his yang, who is hurting and broken and this gift could destroy them or could heal them. it could really go either way. hercules is...well, the only way to describe him is as a hufflepuff. he's thrown in with two slytherins and their chemistry is off the charts. hades commands the devotion of both megara and hercules, but both hades and hercules adore megara, and both megara and hades are taken by this sweet hufflepuff of a young man in hercules. this is all to say that this is a true mmf ménage story. it's filthy and dirty and so freaking hot. **learn my lesson will publish on october 29, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of katee robert in exchange for my honest review. 

full disclosure: i am megan stark's literary agent, and i love, love this story. so i'm totally biased, but you guys, this book.... house of ash & brimstone was a manuscript i picked up and then couldn't put down until i finished reading it. the action starts right away and the first thing i remember thinking was i love the buffy-esque vibes. gisele is a kickass half-demon bounty hunter who has no idea that her latest bounty is setting her on a collision course with the past that she can't remember and the family that she's better off not reacquainting herself with. when she saves a minotaur from imprisonment, she gains a bodyguard/partner she can trust in beast. something she relishes given that her day job has saddled her with a partner she doesn't trust at all, the mysterious shade who keeps popping up where he shouldn't. but as the past unravels itself into gigi's present, the pull she feels toward shade begins to make sense. but as deal

the latest book in the federal k-9 series,  dark'n'deadly   finds atf special agent eric miller and his k-9 partner tangled up with tess mctavish. tess and eric have a past, but eric is chasing up leads on a major drug bust that implicates tess's little brother. she's determined to protect her brother, but can't stop thinking about the man who has haunted her memories for ages. if she lets eric complete his mission, it could be her family loses everything. but she doesn't want to lose him. will keeping her secrets, protecting her brother, cause her to lose the guy she cares most about? **dark'n'deadly  will publish on october 21, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (amara) in exchange for my honest review. 

christina lauren know how to deliver humor, but they also know how to deliver the bittersweet. twice in a blue moon  is more on the bittersweet side of the spectrum, and as long as you know this going into it, and read it when you want something bittersweet, you aren't going to have any problems here. now, the biggest conflicts in this story could have been resolved if the characters actually communicated with each other. similar to roomies , which i loved, but oh man, did i wish those characters had just talked to each other. this is a second chance at love story, with over a decade of time passing between the first time these characters meet to the second time. at times, it feels like the characters didn't do enough growing in the time between, and the first half of the story is certainly sweeter than the back half given all the regrets and recriminations. but there is a happy ever after, which you know is a requirement of the genre. **twice in a blue moon will publis

the clean slate ranch series continues with lucky break , and i am happy to see these guys again. i'd thought the series was over after the last book, but there's definitely room for more lonely cowboys to find love here. shawn matthews isn't used to people helping him out. his past has taught him that. so when he has no choice but to live out of his car, he does his best to survive without getting caught. unfortunately, it's only a matter of time, but his bosses at the clean slate ranch are happy to offer him a roof over his head. and for the first time in a long time, shawn has a place he can call home. the roof over his head and running toilets aren't the only things appealing about this home. he's got a great view into the porch of robin butler's cabin. after a rocky start—robin is shocked by shawn's resemblance to his late husband when they first meet—the mutual attraction that blooms between them is achingly sweet. but they both have baggage

book two in the dangerous love series, wicked sinner , blends standard contemporary romance tropes with some real thriller action. asher sullivan left remy brennan's heart in pieces a long time ago. now he's crashing her wedding, arresting the groom, and trying to keep her safe from all kinds of danger. for remy it's always been asher, but when he left her behind she did her best to move on. after he returned to town and showed no interest in mending fences she thought their love mattered little to him. but the thing is for asher it's always been remy. these two have crazy chemistry and so many secrets they are keeping from each other. once they learn to trust that what they both want is each other things start to fall into place. **wicked sinner will publish on october 15, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/grand central publishing (forever) in exchange for my honest review. 

the second book in the gamer girls series, against the rules , answers the question, what happens if the guy you fall in love with is the last person you should fall in love with? for holly mcdonald, that guy happens to be nathan williams. and it would be one thing if the lust/like/love were not reciprocated, but things get all kinds of complicated when it is. holly knows she needs to get back in the dating saddle again, she broke up with her fiancé two years ago, and enough time has passed for her heart to heal. but all the guys flirting with her or creepily messaging her online do absolutely nothing for her. the only guy who piques her interest is gwen's dad, nathan. and not only is he her friend's dad, he's her roommate. getting involved has far-flung repercussions, not just because it affects holly's relationship with gwen, but also nathan's relationship with his daughter. and when roommates get involved it can make for some challenging intimacy issues.

a lovely holiday read that's guaranteed to give you warm fuzzies, a family by christmas  finds emma and grant brought together by casey, grant's young daughter who wants her dad to find happiness again. both emma and grant have their reasons for not wanting to risk love again, but with casey's machinations and some christmas joy, it's hard to say no to love. if you're looking for a quick read full of warm fuzzies, this is just the thing. **a family by christmas will publish on october 14, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (bliss) in exchange for my honest review. 

evelyn and owen are best friends who have come to rely each other in every way, except it's all platonic. he's her date for work events. she's his for the same. my forever plus-one  is actually aptly titled. they have each other's keys. they talk every day and know what's going on in each other's lives to a perhaps unhealthy degree. when they first met, they were both recently divorced, recently damaged, and they valued their friendship over the intimacy. but over time, the lines have blurred. and they are intimate without being intimate. but they're still pretty bad at communicating. or maybe it's bad at listening. because i feel like at one point owen is pretty clear about what his issues are and evelyn kind of blows him off about it, only to realize he is right, but he's also behaved like a giant d-bag and so she's rightfully mad and so then he has to grovel. this is tropey friends-to-lovers goodness, and owen and evelyn are a well-mat

so, each subsequent book that publishes in the dreamers series is better than the last. i thought it would be hard to top nesto and jude, but then there was milo and tom, and now patrice and easton are just...they are absolute perfection in american love story . easton has been crushing on patrice since they first met, but patrice holds him at arm's length because this shouldn't be the guy patrice finds love with. they come from backgrounds that are too different, and what they do, what they stand for are two very different things. at least it seems so on the surface. the thing about easton is that he is so good. like he's genuinely a good person and is trying so hard to do the right thing and respect patrice's boundaries. and like, patrice is a total jerk at times, but you also get it, he's got baggage and he's got reasons to feel the way he does. and i also loved that we were back in ithaca, and that patrice works at cornell, because well i know these

when shy college student remmy almost ends up stranded on campus in all or nothing , he is rescued from having to ride home in snowy weather by hottie carter mccormack. remmy is surprised by the offer but can't say no to the ride under the circumstances. when the boys are stuck in a blizzard that shuts down the interstate the forced proximity has them admitting their true feelings for one another. this is a sweet, holiday-themed, wintry romance and a quick, breezy read. **all or nothing will publish on october 7, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/ninestar press in exchange for my honest review. 

i previously reviewed white knight  when the audiobook was released and this was what I had to say then: picking up right where  black sheep   left off,  white knight  continues cannon and memphis' story. and it's one wild ride. from hard truth to hard truth, the one thing that remains steadfast is how strongly these two feel for each other. it's so deeply romantic, that connection between them, how fully committed they are to being on one another's side. we see old friends and meet some new ones. but all in all  white knight   is the perfect companion to  black sheep . and it might be slightly blasphemous to say, but cannon might be my favorite casso yet. i mean, creighton is always amazing, but there has been an edge to cannon that makes him so interesting and to see all his defenses down and the man he's become, the power that he learns to wield throughout the story is beyond amazing. and even now a few weeks later, i'm still thinking cannon is my