Thursday, February 28, 2019

New Release Review: Southern Player by Jessica Peterson


Southern Player
by Jessica Peterson
Release Date: February 28, 2019

I’m looking for a hot hookup with no strings attached. And I want my older brother’s best friend to step up to the plate...

My dating history is lame. My experiences in bed? Even lamer. As the owner of a thriving business, I’m used to calling the shots. But one place I don’t always want to be in charge is in the bedroom.

Enter Luke Rodgers. My brother’s best friend. Former major league baseball player. A guy who now hangs out on his farm, sweaty and shirtless, as he nurses a shoulder injury.

If the rumors are true, he also likes to work up a sweat behind closed doors. A total MVP in the sack.

Just the take charge guy I’m looking for.

With Luke and I, it’s game on. And it’s all good until Luke decides he wants forever, and he wants it with me.

I’m just not convinced I can trust Luke. Will he keep playing the field and break my heart? Or is he really ready to hang up his cleats for good?

SOUTHERN PLAYER is a full length, STANDALONE romance.

My review: 5 stars!
There's a fantastic line in Southern Player, where Jessica Peterson pretty much wrote her own review for the book: "Five shooting stars. Or would it be exploding stars? Orgasmic ones, maybe?" And I totally agree- Luke and Gracie's story was fantastic. 

I had been (im)patiently waiting to get to know Luke better since he was introduced in Southern Charmer- an ex-MLB baseball player? Yes please! (And the author confirmed for me on Instagram that he did in fact play for my favorite Cubs!) Luke was just dreamy- a kind, genuine, caring man interesting in finding forever. He and Gracie were perfect together- the witty banter, super-steamy moments, and interactions were so refreshingly real. And just as she did with Southern Charmer, the author again teases us with snippets of historical fiction- it's a genre I've never read but am beginning to see that I am missing out. 

I am absolutely loving the Charleston Heat series and cannot wait for the next installment- Jessica Peterson never disappoints.
Author Bio
Jessica Peterson began reading romance to escape the decidedly unromantic awkwardness of her teenage years. Having found solace in the likes of Mr. Darcy, Jamie Fraser (OMG love the gingers!), and Edward Cullen, it wasn’t long before she began creating tall, dark and handsome heroes of her own.

She lives in Charlotte, North Carolina with her husband, Mr. Peterson, and her smelly Goldendoodle Martha Bean. She is the author of the super sexy STUDY ABROAD and FLINGS WITH KINGS series. Check her out at www.jessicapeterson.com

Author Links

ecopy purchased by me on release day

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

New Release Review: Irresistible by Melanie Harlow


By: Melanie Harlow
Release Date: February 22, 2019

I’m a full-time single dad to three daughters and CFO at Cloverleigh Farms. I don’t have time to fall in love—I’m too busy trying to run a business, keep the red socks out of the white laundry, and get the damn pillowcases on without owing a dollar to the swear jar.

Sure, Frannie Sawyer is beautiful and sweet, but she’s twenty-seven, the boss’s daughter, and my new part-time nanny—which means she’s completely off-limits. It’s bad enough I can’t stop fantasizing about her, what kind of jerk would I be if I acted on the impulse to kiss her?

(Exactly the kind of jerk you’re thinking.)

Actually, I’m worse than that—because I didn’t stop with a kiss, and now I can’t stay away.  She makes me feel like myself again. She reminds me what it’s like to want something just for me. She’s everything I ever needed, but nothing I ever imagined.

I’m a former Marine. I should have had the strength to resist her from the start.

But I didn’t. And now I have to choose between the life I want and the life she deserves.

Even if it means giving her up.

My review: 5 stars!
There is not one single thing I didn't absolutely love about this book. Both Mack and Frannie were just all-around fantastic people, the kind you want to spend time with. I adored Mack's three daughters- they just couldn't have been sweeter and funnier. I loved the relationship that Frannie built with the family before they even started a romantic relationship- she just fit right in with the family and added so much. The progression of their romance felt real, and natural- not at all forced. They were just great together. I love how the author writes standalones that still have characters from prior books that we get to see again- it's always so fun to see. Irresistible is a fabulous start to what I think will be a great series- looking forward to the next book.

ebook purchased by me on release day


New Release Review: Tumble by Adriana Locke



By: Adriana Locke
Release Date: February 26th



Synopsis:                   
After being burned by her dream job in New York City, sports journalist Neely Kimber suddenly finds herself jobless and paying a long-overdue visit to her hometown in Tennessee. Her plan? Relax, reset, and head back up the corporate ladder. There’s just one unexpected step. Neely’s back in Dogwood Lane for barely a day when she sees the man she ran from nine years ago: the bad boy next door who was her first kiss, her first love, and her first heartbreak.
Devoted single dad Dane Madden knows he hurt Neely in the worst way. He’s got a lot to make up for. And as passionate as their reconnection is, it’s a lot to hope for. Having her back in his arms feels so right. But falling in love all over again with a woman who wants to live a world away is bound to go so wrong.
What’s it going to take for Neely to give him—and Dogwood Lane—just one more chance?


My review: 5 stars
Small town, second chance romance? I fell hard for Neely and Mack, and I do love a redemption story. We all make mistakes, especially as teenagers, and I appreciated seeing how much can change in 10 years. Mack's daughter, Mia, was adorable and a fantastic addition to the supporting cast. The Dogwood Lane series is one I'll have on my radar for sure- can't wait to read the next installment. 



Snippet:


Splat!

The sound of the hammer crushing my thumb—swung with more force than was necessary, to boot—ricochets across the front lawn. The tool falls from my hand, striking against the sawhorse, and flips into the soft grass with a gentle thud.

“Son of a...!” My hand shakes, the top of my thumb threatening to explode. I tilt my head to the sky and try to find some peace in the clouds.

I come up empty. “Matt!” I call to my younger brother. “I’m taking ten.”

He nods from halfway up the ladder leaned against the side of the house.

Wrapping my good hand around my thumb, I head toward my truck. Sounds of construction ring out behind me. It’s usually music to my ears, the lifeblood of the Madden name. But each cut of a sawblade, buzz of a power drill, and swing of a hammer feels like a distraction this morning. I have a throbbing thumb to show for it.

Beads of sweat cluster along my forehead. I remove my hat with my good hand and run the back of my forearm along my brow.

“Damn it.” Everything feels sticky. Mildly irritating. And the progress on the project that usually energizes me has failed me epically this morning. I just don’t want to be here. Not that I have a better place to be. Quite frankly, I have a lot of places I shouldn’t be, and with Neely, or thinking about Neely, is one of them.

I would’ve recognized her anywhere. Same gray eyes that glimmer like she’s about to tell you a secret. Full lips that spread into a smile so infectious you can’t help but feel your own mouth following suit. The hint of floral perfume, the golden hair that may as well be silk, and the aura about her that’s just as strong as the day she left Dogwood Lane and me—it’s all the same. It’s like time forgot to age her. She somehow has become more beautiful, sexier, stronger.

The world hates me. I’ve postulated this for a long time, but it’s obvious today.

The tailgate of my truck lowers. Scooping a handful of ice from the cooler in the bed into a bandanna, I wrap it around my injured digit. The relief lasts only a few moments.

“What are you doing down here?” Penn rests his forearms over the side of the truck, the tattoos carved in his skin like mini masterpieces on full display. He eyes my makeshift bandage. “What happened to you?”

“Hammer,” I groan, adjusting the ice.

“That’s interesting.”

“How you figure?”

“Never knew you to hit yourself with a hammer before. I find that interesting.”

“If that’s interesting, you need a hobby. Or you could work like I’m paying you to do . . .”

“I have a hobby, thank you, and you should’ve seen her last night,” he says, smacking his lips together. “Lord Almighty, she’s a—”

“Penn.”

“Yeah?”

The tip of my finger sticks out of the bandanna. It’s bright red and hot to the touch despite the ice packed around it. “All your escapades really sound the same at this point.”

“Is that jealousy I hear?” He cups his hand to his ear. “I thought so. Not my fault you’re in a dry spell.”

Leaning against the truck, I look at him. “Jealousy isn’t how I’d describe it. But if that makes ya feel good, go for it.”

“My hobby makes me feel good.” He moves his lips around, like he’s fighting the next words trying to pop out. He does this when he knows he shouldn’t say something but can’t quite convince himself not to. “From the looks of you, I’d say you’re more than jealous. I’d say you’re . . . tempted.”

My tongue presses on the roof of my mouth. “Tempted to what?”

He leans against the truck, too, the gold St. Christopher’s medal he’s worn since elementary school clamoring against the side. The corners of his lips nearly touch the corners of his eyes. He knows.

“Word travels fast, huh?” I say, prodding around to see if my guess is right.

He slow blinks. Twice.

“What?” I ask.

“That’s all you have to say about Neely being back in town? ‘Word travels fast.’ What’s wrong with you?”

We don’t have time for that conversation.

I sigh. “What do you want me to say?”

“I’d love to have been a fly on the wall for that little run-in.” Penn snickers. “Did you stutter around like I imagine? Or did you not manage to say an entire sentence?”

Working my jaw back and forth, I point a finger his way. “You better stop while you’re ahead.”

He reads me correctly, and his animation drops a notch. “Really, though. How’d it go? But before you answer that, let me toss out there that I heard sparks were flying all over the diner so hot Claire had to call the fire department.”

I shake my head. “Shut up.”

“Just telling you what I heard.”

“The firemen were there to order food, you idiot.”

He thinks he’s onto something. There’s a glee in his face that means only one thing: it’s going to be a long day around here.

“So, what happened?” he asks, resting his arms over the truck bed.

“You know, sometimes I think you should’ve been a girl with all the gossiping you do.”

“This isn’t gossip,” he contends. “This is Neely-freaking-Kimber, man. Every memory I have of my entire adolescence has her in it. She bailed me out of jail when I was too scared to call my dad and you and Matt were passed out on moonshine. Remember that?”

My chuckle is so hard, it causes my thumb to throb. “I forgot about that. She was pissed.”

“Neely came through, though. God, I miss her.”

Those last words echo through my mind.

I have shoved her out of my head for the last few years. Took over Dad’s business, took care of my business. Trudged forward without her because that was the only choice I had. I hardly even think about her anymore unless someone brings her up in conversation.

So why do I itch to crawl into the truck and hunt her down?




Friday, February 22, 2019

New Release Review: Best Laid Plans by Lauren Blakely

 

What happens when the nice girl wants to give naughty a go?

Find out in BEST LAID PLANS, the brand new, sexy friends-to-lovers, lessons-in-seduction romance from #1 New York Times bestseller Lauren Blakely! And these lessons come with a twist!

Lessons in s-e-x-ploration

Friends falling hard

A charming, cocky, confident hero & a smart, clever heroine

A quirky small town full of fabulous characters

BEST LAID PLANS has it all! Get your copy of BEST LAID PLANS now!

 

✮✮✮BEST LAID PLANS is here! Grab your copy today! ✮✮✮

That time I had the brilliant idea to ask my good friend for lessons in seduction… 

Awkward? Maybe. But how else is a good girl going to find out if she likes being naughty? I might be sweet as cherry pie, but I'm also bold and damn curious. And Gabe is charming, trustworthy, aces at seduction (or so I hear) and—bonus!— willing to give me lessons. But to guarantee it won’t ruin our friendship, I have some specific requirements for his instruction. I want these classes to be hypothetical more than hands-on. So what if he’s hella sexy? I can handle that, no problem.

 *** 

I have it bad for Arden. She's bright, brilliant, insanely fun, and I want to take her home and spend all night together—and then spend the day with her, too. When she asks for my help, I see my chance to win her sweet heart by showing her how much fun we can have getting spicy. Trouble is, she has a different idea of what “bedroom exploration” should mean. Now I’m going to have to get really clever to win her over. Good thing I know exactly how to upend her best laid plans.

My review: 5 stars!There's no trope I love more than friends to lovers and Lauren Blakely is absolutely the master at it. Her characters are so damn likable- I always want to be in their friend group! Arden and Gabe were fabulous characters, had lots of fun witty banter, and off the charts chemistry. This was a slow burn romance well worth the wait. Side characters and settings were delightful. Best of all, Arden is a BOOKSTORE OWNER and Blakely threw in so many literary references and popular titles-- so fun to read! I enjoyed the epilogues and am so glad we will get Perri and Derek's story next in The Feel Good Factor.

ORDER YOUR COPIES HERE! 

Kindle US https://amzn.to/2EnvRGn

Amazon PB https://amzn.to/2QZi1Oc

     

✦The audiobook is narrated by Joe Arden and Erin Mallon! ✦ Audio ➜https://adbl.co/2BDDTJO


   

ADD IT TO YOUR GOODREADS TODAY!


“Best Laid Plans is hands down my favorite. This book is funny, sensual and has a heart of gold. It brought the friends-to-lovers trope to a brand new level.” - Becca at Wicked Quests of a BookNinja

   

“A fabulously sweet, sexy, funny and hot friends to lovers story.” - Melissa at Booked All Night

 

“This is my favorite Blakely book to date. I loved absolutely EVERYTHING about this story!!” -LittleJen on Goodreads

EXCERPT
~ARDEN~
I’m most definitely a planner, but I never planned to be a good girl.
Honestly, I didn’t even think twice about good girls versus naughty ones. I always figured with sex and love, you could have it all.
That’s what we’re taught as women, right?
You can be prim and proper during the day and wild and daring at night. Or the other way around. Whatever floats your banana boat.
But somehow over the years, I inadvertently landed on the “nice” half of the divide, so squarely in the good-girl camp I’m practically the poster child of oh-so-sweet, and I can’t seem to get a crack at the other side.
Only, I keep peeking over the fence, peering, wondering.
What if the grass is greener? What if I’m missing out on something better in the bedroom and, by extension, something better in life and love?
There’s only one way to find out.
Ask.
The trouble is, when it comes time to woman up and make a request for what I want to try at the ice cream stand of sexual flavors and favors, I wind up with so much more than I bargained for.
More than I’m ready for…
And with so much more to lose than I ever expected.
Guess I’m about to learn if it’s better to be naughty or to be nice.

✮✮✮Let us help you plan your day with this BEST LAID PLANS giveaway! ✮✮✮

The Ultimate Reader Package including a Kindle Paperwhite, $50 Gift Card to your Favorite Book Retailer,and a $50 Gift Card to your Favorite Beverage Retailer (wine, coffee, soda, etc.)!

https://laurenblakely.com/the-ultimate-reader-package-giveaway/

 
About Lauren Blakely:

A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that's sweet, sexy and witty. Her heroines are strong and smart and her heroes have hearts of gold and fantastic funny bones. She lives in California with her family, including her smoking hot and hilarious husband and her two brilliant and kind children. She has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs -- she might have four dogs, or maybe five. If she's lucky, she'll soon have six dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than 100 times, and she's sold more than 3 million books. In February she'll release BEST LAID PLANS, in March THE FEEL-GOOD FACTOR, and in May THE DATING PROPOSAL. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter! laurenblakely.com/newsletter  




Thursday, February 21, 2019

Cover Reveal: Diary of a Bad Boy by Meghan Quinn

     
Diary of a Bad Boy by Meghan Quinn
Release Date: March 7, 2019      
Dear Diary, 

I might have gotten myself into a wee bit of trouble—and I'm not talking about the "court mandated community service," or “therapy sessions from bashing a bloke in the head" kind of trouble. 

I wish it were that simple. 

Nope. I’m talking about the "falling in love with one of my client's daughters,” kind of trouble . . . 
The kind of problem I can’t talk my way out of when the truth gets out.

How I ended up with her phone is a long story—and when she called to get it back, I took things a bit too far. One innocent exchange wound up leading to so much more.

Fun, new, and totally immune to my charm, Sutton is different. And I had no idea she was the daughter of Foster Green. 

Blame it on the dark colored stout running through my veins, pushing me toward one bad decision after another. Pushing me toward her even though I know right from wrong; even though she's my client's daughter. 

Dating her might be the best or worst decision I've ever made. Only time, whiskey, and one more roll around the mattress with her will tell. 

       
      
  
 

ABOUT MEGHAN QUINN:
USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book. 

Facebook | Follow on Goodreads | Website | Amazon Author Page | Instagram | Follow on BookBub

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

New Release Review: The Phoenix by Jillian Dodd

by Jillian Dodd
Release Date: February 19, 2019

A single sentence is muttered from the lips of an assassin dangling from a four-story building, “It starts in Montrovia.” That sentence led Black X to send a spy to protect Prince Lorenzo. And that sentence haunts Huntley as she realizes her time is running out.

When athletes from around the world descend on Montrovia for the Olympics, another group is coming together, its years of planning a new world order finally coming to fruition. A disease is released. People start dying. And, with rumors of an impending coup, the country falls into chaos.

Alliances are betrayed. Lives are lost. Loves are challenged. And hearts are turned.

Can Huntley stop what has started, or will Montrovia and the world fall?


My review: 4.5 stars!
This is such an amazing spy thriller series with lots of romance, and with each installment, so much is revealed and so much happens! Book 6, The Phoenix, leaves us with two major cliffhangers and I absolutely cannot wait to see it all tied together and wrapped up in book 7, The Echelon. I picture the author with a giant whiteboard in her writing room, with tons of boxes and arrows and details all plotted out! Huntley is just plain bad-ass- such a great heroine!

Jillian Dodd is a USA TODAY bestselling author who lives in a small Florida beach town, is married to her college sweetheart, has two grown children and two Labrador Retrievers. She loves to travel, shop, and paint.
Jillian's Website: http://jilliandodd.net
Jillian's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JillianDodd1
Jillian's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilliandodd




Monday, February 18, 2019

Cover Reveal: The Feel Good Factor by Lauren Blakely

 

That inked bad boy who’s been striking sparks with me since he rode into town? Turns out he’s my new housemate, which adds up to a super-complicated living situation and chemistry so hot it should be illegal.

THE FEEL GOOD FACTOR, a sexy new standalone romance from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely, will be releasing on March 25, 2019 on all retailers! A roommates-to-lovers romantic comedy, don’t miss the stunning cover below, and pre-order your copy today!

 
Photography by Wong Sim. Model is Sahib Faber. Cover Design by Helen Williams.

About THE FEEL GOOD FACTOR (Coming 3/25/2019):

I have a fantastic family, great best friends, a job I love…and now I’m up for a promotion to police sergeant. I need total focus—not a flirty, dirty, irresistible, tattooed hottie riding into my town on his motorcycle. Can I arrest him for being too good-looking? When he kisses me senseless in the back of a waffle truck, it’s criminal, the things he makes me think about hot syrup and melted butter. One order of hot, fluffy hookup to go, please.

But the next time I see him, it’s not for our date with benefits. He’s the guy who just rented the room above my garage.

I need the rent to pay my bills, not a man like Derek, who I soon discover to be strong, caring, generous, good with kids, and kind to puppies… If I’m not careful, he’ll be moving into my heart as well as my house.

***

A no-strings-attached fling with the fiery redhead who revs my engine? Why, yes, that does sound like a delicious perk of my new job in this new town, thank you very much. I’m coming off a bad relationship, and I have zero interest in anything serious. I’ve got all the serious I need helping my sister take care of her three little kids while her husband is deployed.

Except, surprise! Perri isn’t just my future fling. Turns out she’s my sexy, sassy landlord.

A lease definitely counts as “strings attached,” and as much as I’d like to get tangled in her sheets, I can’t let myself get tangled up in a relationship.

But as soon as we put the cuffs on our escapades, I learn over late-night conversations in the kitchen, that my landlord is so much more than the sexiest woman I’ve ever met– she has a quick mind and the biggest heart.

Once I’m in, I’m all in. And to convince her that we should see where this goes, I plan on turning up the heat—and not just in the kitchen.

   

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

✦Amazon PB ➜ http://blkly.pub/AmazonFG

✦Apple Books ➜ http://blkly.pub/AppleFeelgood

✦Kobo ➜ http://blkly.pub/KoboFeelGood

✦Nook ➜ http://blkly.pub/NookFeelGood

✦Google Play ➜ http://blkly.pub/GoogleFeelGood

✦Kindle LIVE alert (via Lauren's newsletter) ➜ https://laurenblakely.com/newsletter

✦Goodreads ➜ http://blkly.pub/GoodreadsFeelGood

     

Love Audio Books? Get ready for one amazing listen with two Audie-nominated romance narrators!

Joe Arden and Erin Mallon team up to bring you Lauren’s latest standalone rom-com The Feel Good Factor!

And that’s not all! This audiobook also includes the bonus short story, STRONG SUIT!

Get the latest audio news from Lauren Blakely here: http://www.subscribepage.com/LaurenAudio


 
About Lauren Blakely: A #1 New York Times Bestselling and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that's sweet, sexy and witty. Her heroines are strong and smart and her heroes have hearts of gold and fantastic funny bones. She lives in California with her family, including her smoking hot and hilarious husband and her two brilliant and kind children. She has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs -- she might have four dogs, or maybe five. If she's lucky, she'll soon have six dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than 100 times, and she's sold more than 3 million books. In February she'll release BEST LAID PLANS, in March THE FEEL GOOD FACTOR, and in May THE DATING PROPOSAL. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter! laurenblakely.com/newsletter  


New Release Review: The Risk by Elle Kennedy

by Elle Kennedy
Release Date: February 18, 2019

Everyone says I’m a bad girl. They’re only partly right—I don’t let fear rule me, and I certainly don’t care what people think. But I draw the line at sleeping with the enemy. As the daughter of Briar’s head hockey coach, I’d be vilified if I hooked up with a player from a rival team.
 
And that’s who Jake Connelly is. Harvard’s star forward is arrogant, annoying, and too attractive for his own good. But fate is cruel—I require his help to secure a much-coveted internship, and the sexy jerk isn’t making it easy for me.
 
I need Connelly to be my fake boyfriend.
 
For every fake date…he wants a real one.
Which means this bad girl is in big trouble. Nothing good can come from sneaking around with Jake Connelly. My father would kill me, my friends will revolt, and my post-college career is on the line. But while it’s getting harder and harder to resist Jake’s oozing sex appeal and cocky grin, I refuse to fall for him.

That’s the one risk I’m not willing to take.

My review: 5 stars!
Many many years ago when I was in college in the early 90s, OKC had an actual ice hockey team that played in the CHL called the Oklahoma City Blazers. I knew nothing about hockey but we made the 90 minute trip up to see quite a few games, and I loved the atmosphere! Sadly, the team doesn't play anymore and I'm more of an MLB girl. Who knew that 25 years later I'd be obsessed with hockey romance novels! Elle Kennedy's Off Campus series drew me in to the world of college hockey a few years ago (Garrett, Logan and Dean.... SWOON), and I was so excited to see this spin off Briar U series. Brenna is my favorite kind of h- fiesty, fearless and sassy, and Jake was perfection- team captain, responsible, and a great guy. The chemistry and banter between these two was stunning.

𝗠𝗘: Did you seriously just slide into my DMs?
𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔: Unfortunately. Do you want to meet up?
𝗠𝗘: Are you asking me out?
𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔: In your dreams, Jakey.
𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔: I’m in the city and have about an hour before I need to go back to Briar. I was hoping we could meet up.
𝗠𝗘: Gonna need a lot more than an hour for our first time, babe. I mean, foreplay alone will eat up most of that time.
𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗡𝗔: An hour of foreplay? Aren’t you ambitious.
𝗠𝗘: Not ambitious. Realistic.

I adore a good enemies-to-lovers, and coupled with a fake relationship, well, I'm a goner. The Chase was fantastic, and I cannot wait for the next Briar U installment.



Sunday, February 17, 2019

Cover Reveal: Tumble by Adriana Locke


 
Tumble (Dogwood Lane #1) 
Author: Adriana Locke
Release Date: February 26th
Releases In: Kindle Unlimited, Paperback, Audiobook

From USA Today bestselling author Adriana Locke comes a witty romance about first love and second chances. This is a standalone, small-town, blue-collar love story.


Giveaway2 winners will receive a $25 Amazon Gift Card from (Adriana Locke). 


                
After being burned by her dream job in New York City, sports journalist Neely Kimber suddenly finds herself jobless and paying a long-overdue visit to her hometown in Tennessee. Her plan? Relax, reset, and head back up the corporate ladder. There’s just one unexpected step. Neely’s back in Dogwood Lane for barely a day when she sees the man she ran from nine years ago: the bad boy next door who was her first kiss, her first love, and her first heartbreak.
Devoted single dad Dane Madden knows he hurt Neely in the worst way. He’s got a lot to make up for. And as passionate as their reconnection is, it’s a lot to hope for. Having her back in his arms feels so right. But falling in love all over again with a woman who wants to live a world away is bound to go so wrong.
What’s it going to take for Neely to give him—and Dogwood Lane—just one more chance?

Preorder Now for $3.99:       https://amzn.to/2zMEnOO

Ways to Save Money:          
If you preorder the ebook of Tumble, you can add the Audible narration for just $1.99.
If you preorder the paperback of Tumble, you can grab the ebook for 99 cents.

Audio Features:
Narrated by the talented Aiden Snow and Summer Morton, this audio will rock your socks!


Snippet:


Splat!

The sound of the hammer crushing my thumb—swung with more force than was necessary, to boot—ricochets across the front lawn. The tool falls from my hand, striking against the sawhorse, and flips into the soft grass with a gentle thud.

“Son of a...!” My hand shakes, the top of my thumb threatening to explode. I tilt my head to the sky and try to find some peace in the clouds.

I come up empty. “Matt!” I call to my younger brother. “I’m taking ten.”

He nods from halfway up the ladder leaned against the side of the house.

Wrapping my good hand around my thumb, I head toward my truck. Sounds of construction ring out behind me. It’s usually music to my ears, the lifeblood of the Madden name. But each cut of a sawblade, buzz of a power drill, and swing of a hammer feels like a distraction this morning. I have a throbbing thumb to show for it.

Beads of sweat cluster along my forehead. I remove my hat with my good hand and run the back of my forearm along my brow.

“Damn it.” Everything feels sticky. Mildly irritating. And the progress on the project that usually energizes me has failed me epically this morning. I just don’t want to be here. Not that I have a better place to be. Quite frankly, I have a lot of places I shouldn’t be, and with Neely, or thinking about Neely, is one of them.

I would’ve recognized her anywhere. Same gray eyes that glimmer like she’s about to tell you a secret. Full lips that spread into a smile so infectious you can’t help but feel your own mouth following suit. The hint of floral perfume, the golden hair that may as well be silk, and the aura about her that’s just as strong as the day she left Dogwood Lane and me—it’s all the same. It’s like time forgot to age her. She somehow has become more beautiful, sexier, stronger.

The world hates me. I’ve postulated this for a long time, but it’s obvious today.

The tailgate of my truck lowers. Scooping a handful of ice from the cooler in the bed into a bandanna, I wrap it around my injured digit. The relief lasts only a few moments.

“What are you doing down here?” Penn rests his forearms over the side of the truck, the tattoos carved in his skin like mini masterpieces on full display. He eyes my makeshift bandage. “What happened to you?”

“Hammer,” I groan, adjusting the ice.

“That’s interesting.”

“How you figure?”

“Never knew you to hit yourself with a hammer before. I find that interesting.”

“If that’s interesting, you need a hobby. Or you could work like I’m paying you to do . . .”

“I have a hobby, thank you, and you should’ve seen her last night,” he says, smacking his lips together. “Lord Almighty, she’s a—”

“Penn.”

“Yeah?”

The tip of my finger sticks out of the bandanna. It’s bright red and hot to the touch despite the ice packed around it. “All your escapades really sound the same at this point.”

“Is that jealousy I hear?” He cups his hand to his ear. “I thought so. Not my fault you’re in a dry spell.”

Leaning against the truck, I look at him. “Jealousy isn’t how I’d describe it. But if that makes ya feel good, go for it.”

“My hobby makes me feel good.” He moves his lips around, like he’s fighting the next words trying to pop out. He does this when he knows he shouldn’t say something but can’t quite convince himself not to. “From the looks of you, I’d say you’re more than jealous. I’d say you’re . . . tempted.”

My tongue presses on the roof of my mouth. “Tempted to what?”

He leans against the truck, too, the gold St. Christopher’s medal he’s worn since elementary school clamoring against the side. The corners of his lips nearly touch the corners of his eyes. He knows.

“Word travels fast, huh?” I say, prodding around to see if my guess is right.

He slow blinks. Twice.

“What?” I ask.

“That’s all you have to say about Neely being back in town? ‘Word travels fast.’ What’s wrong with you?”

We don’t have time for that conversation.

I sigh. “What do you want me to say?”

“I’d love to have been a fly on the wall for that little run-in.” Penn snickers. “Did you stutter around like I imagine? Or did you not manage to say an entire sentence?”

Working my jaw back and forth, I point a finger his way. “You better stop while you’re ahead.”

He reads me correctly, and his animation drops a notch. “Really, though. How’d it go? But before you answer that, let me toss out there that I heard sparks were flying all over the diner so hot Claire had to call the fire department.”

I shake my head. “Shut up.”

“Just telling you what I heard.”

“The firemen were there to order food, you idiot.”

He thinks he’s onto something. There’s a glee in his face that means only one thing: it’s going to be a long day around here.

“So, what happened?” he asks, resting his arms over the truck bed.

“You know, sometimes I think you should’ve been a girl with all the gossiping you do.”

“This isn’t gossip,” he contends. “This is Neely-freaking-Kimber, man. Every memory I have of my entire adolescence has her in it. She bailed me out of jail when I was too scared to call my dad and you and Matt were passed out on moonshine. Remember that?”

My chuckle is so hard, it causes my thumb to throb. “I forgot about that. She was pissed.”

“Neely came through, though. God, I miss her.”

Those last words echo through my mind.

I have shoved her out of my head for the last few years. Took over Dad’s business, took care of my business. Trudged forward without her because that was the only choice I had. I hardly even think about her anymore unless someone brings her up in conversation.

So why do I itch to crawl into the truck and hunt her down?