DOUBLETALK BY TERALYN MITCHELL

Release Date: September 13, 2021

BLURB

Basketball has always been his one love, until now . . .

Zeke Armstrong never imagined he’d be back in Vermont, but here he is, living in Colebury and trying to rehab an injury that could mean an early retirement from pro basketball. Running into his former classmate, Mallory Barrett, shouldn’t be a distraction. It shouldn’t mean anything, so why is he accidentally on purpose showing up at the coffee shop where the beautiful writer spends her time?

Mallory Barrett has met a guy. Well, she hasn’t met him yet, except for on the dating app she almost refused to download. “Coby” sparks her interest and gets her jokes--and gives the romance-novel heroes she loves so much a full-court run for their money. When their first date doesn’t work out, she decides to give him another shot . . . just as a man she despises reenters her life. While her interest in the mystery man on the app grows, she clashes constantly with Zeke in real life. She can’t forgive him for humiliating her in high school, yet she can’t deny she’s drawn to him now.

She’s somehow gone from confirmed bachelorette to the tie-breaker between two men.  Meanwhile Zeke has a secret--one that will cost him the game if Mallory finds out . . .

She didn’t wait for me to say anything else, spinning on her heels and heading for the nearest store or restaurant where she could sit down. I chuckled and turned to head in the other direction. A hard wall of muscle made me stumble. Two strong hands gripped my upper arms. I looked up to see who had saved me from falling and who I needed to thank. The need to be polite shriveled and died when I saw that it was Zeke holding onto my arms.

SAFEGUARD BY STEPHANIE ROSE

Release Date: September 2, 2021

Cover Design: Elle Maxwell Designs

BLURB

The worst kind of heartache is the kind you can’t walk away from.

Jilted. Living in a glorified closet. The world’s worst bar waitress. I just need to keep a roof over my head and make tuition payments until I can finish graduate school. Then my real life will start. But right now, long nights at the Speakeasy have me burning the candle at both ends and the wax melting all over my fingers.

When a bar manager offers me a job taking care of his adorable five-year-old daughter, it seems like the perfect solution. I get a quiet place to study. Matteo gets a reliable sitter. 

There should be no complications. Except that I like my new boss a little too much. His gorgeous dark eyes humble me, and the long talks we share fill me up inside. I can’t possibly fall for him.

But the undeniable pull between us leads to a scorching kiss I can’t ignore or forget, and suddenly I’ve fallen for them both, father and daughter. 

And now three hearts are at stake.

EXCERPT

“This was great. Thank you for dinner and for ice cream.” Melanie’s mouth stretched into a tight smile as she reached for her bag. 

“You don’t have to go. Stay. I’ll switch the movie to something we both haven’t seen a hundred times.” 

“Yes, I do.” Her arms dropped to her sides. “If I stay—” she trailed off when I framed her face. 

“If you stay, what are you afraid of?” I ran my thumbs back and forth over her cheekbones. Her full bottom lip quivered as she took in a shaky breath. 

“Everything.” She clenched her eyes shut and grabbed my wrists. 

“This is probably a bad idea,” I confessed, so close to her lips I could almost taste her. 

“The worst,” she agreed with a breathless whisper. 

I wasn’t sure who went in first, but before I knew it, my mouth was slanted over hers. I ran my tongue along the seam of her lips, pushing inside her mouth when it opened on a whimper. She looped her arms around my neck, my body shaking against hers as I forced myself to go slow. She felt too good, tasted too good. With Melanie in my arms, all of my control and reason evaporated.

She broke the kiss, both of us panting as I kept my hands on her waist. I studied her face for a reaction. I wanted her so much that my vision was hazy, but I was letting her take the lead. 

Melanie pressed her hands against my chest, drifting them down my torso until she hooked her fingers into the belt loops at my waist. 

“What do you want, Melanie? Tell me.” 

She straightened, flicking her eyes to mine before grabbing the back of my head and pulling me in for a sloppy, mindless kiss. I kept my lips on hers as I backed her against the wall, dragging my lips down her neck and running my tongue along her throat. 

I sifted my fingers into her hair, weaving them around a fistful to tilt her head back. 

“Look at me,” I whispered. 

She met my gaze with hooded eyes and swollen lips, and she never looked more beautiful. 

“What I want is you, and I’m sick of denying it.” 

4 stars! 

STUDFINDER BY L.B. DUNBAR

BLURB

Who does that sexy silver fox think he is, sitting in her spot in the Busy Bean Cafe?

Over forty, with zero filter, Rita Kaplan loves her coffee, her hiking boots, and her law practice. Life hasn’t always been carefree, though, and Rita’s past holds the scars of poor decisions after deep loss. She survived, though, and no smirky silver fox is going to get in the way of her happiness. Even if he knows how to use his drill, screwdriver, and every other tool in his box to tempt her . . .

Former arson investigator Jake Drummond could add ex-con to his resume if he had one. Instead, he’s serving the final year of his sentence on probation. This involves mandatory AA meetings, hosted by a feisty local attorney, and working on a renovation project, supervised by the same annoyingly attractive whirlwind, who also believes she owns the exclusive rights to a comfy couch in his new favorite coffee shop. Soon she’s everywhere, including the few places she shouldn’t be--like in his bed and in his heart. 

Can opposites lower their walls and construct something everlasting . . . or will their connected past lead to demolition for two hearts in need of a rebuild?

Release Date: August 2, 2021

“You,” I hiss, glaring at the most annoying man I’ve ever met, and I’ve met plenty of annoying men. Of course, not all of them were hunky, smirky, sexy silver foxes, but that was neither here nor there. I am standing here, and he is sitting there. “You are in my spot.”

We’re back in the True North World again with Studfinder by L.B Dunbar. 

Studfinder follows Rita, who you will have met if you have read May Shipley’s book. She is her law partner, and Jake, who is a felon out on parole, who gets a job working for Rita’s charity building houses.  Both characters are in their forties and haven’t dated anyone for a long time after their previous relationships. 

They both have some baggage they need to deal with, they both try to redeem themselves to others even if they don’t actually need to in reality.

You can feel their attraction to each other and you can feel it off the page whenever they are together even though they don’t get off to the best start when Jake takes Rita’s spot at the coffee shop. They’re an unlikely couple but that doesn’t mean anything in this story. Their banter was great and things get a little steamy. I really liked seeing them together. 

This was a fast paced, and deals with some deeper things that I wasn’t expecting but it was a great love story between two people who didn’t think they would find that again or if they deserved it. Another great addition to the True North World. 

*ARC kindly received in exchange for an honest review*

TOUCHSTONE BY KAREN STIVALI

Cover Design: Elle Maxwell Designs

BLURB

Sam doesn't think love is in the cards. The cards disagree.

When Phoebe Stevens' life implodes in a spectacularly public fashion, she's desperate to escape Manhattan. So the offer of a job setting up a new Vermont gastropub couldn’t come at a better time. Driving a U-Haul on winding mountain roads is Phoebe's personal version of hell. But when the caretaker of her guesthouse answers the door tousled, shirtless, and baking cinnamon rolls, her first impression of Vermont dramatically improves.

Sam Trembley believes everyone gets one true love, but he’s already blown his chance. He's spent five years avoiding relationships. Now he’s back in Colebury where sunrise tarot draws and moonlit hikes soothe his soul. But why do the tarot cards keep showing him this nonsense about soulmates? Could it have anything to do with the jaded city girl on his doorstep?

Playing tour guide is fun, but taste-testing her culinary creations as she shimmies her luscious hips around his kitchen is downright irresistible. Soon their chemistry burns hotter than the pub's wood-fired oven.

Has fate brought them together for a summer of love...or a lifetime of happiness?

Touchstone contains craving-inducing menu planning, a sassy white witch grandma, seismic sexy times, and tarot cards on a mission to prove soulmates are real.

4 stars! 

I’m so excited to finally be reading the Speakeasy portion of the World of True North. I’ve been dying to hear more about this location. Karen Stivali is a new to me author and I wasn’t disappointed Touchstone is such a nice opener to this side of the world. 

I really liked Phoebe and Sam, they were both so sweet and their connection with each other was strong instantly. Even though this isn’t an instalove story, you can see how Phoebe and Sam fall for each other so quickly. They were destined for each other. 

They fit together perfectly, their banter flows easily and their chemistry is scorching. But the way they trust and heal each other is what I really loved about them together and this story. They have both been hurt in the past but once they meet, they begin the process of healing thanks to the other.  They were just so natural together which I really loved. 

This was such a sweet and easy read and I would recommend picking it up if that’s what you’re looking for. 

*ARC KINDLY PROVIDED IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW*