With Bonus Story, DATE NIGHT, narrated by Connor Crais
Mr. Turner would like to see you after class . . .
✓ Teacher/Teacher STEAMY romance
✓ Enemies to lovers
✓ Best friend’s brother romance
✓ Alpha with a change of heart
✓ Romantic Comedy with undeniable chemistry
Narrated by Zachary Webber and Erin Mallon, SEE ME AFTER CLASS by Meghan Quinn is now available, and includes DATE NIGHT, narrated by Connor Crais! Grab your copy today –> https://adbl.co/39HSJAo
A witty and charming romance from USA Today bestselling author Meghan Quinn and narrated by Zachary Webber and Erin Mallon…
“Did you have relations with my brother . . .”
Good question.
I’d like to preface this by saying it was never my intention to ever get involved in a workplace romance, let alone get involved with the most surly, agitating, and pompous man I’ve ever met who just so happens to be my new friend’s brother.
My intentions were to show students how English and reading books could actually be fun and make a new life for myself in the suburbs of Chicago.
But so far, I’ve managed to be called into the principal’s office.
Coerced into participating in the teacher’s badminton league.
And instigated into passionate fights with Arlo Turner over education and decorum while losing my underwear at the same time.
Known as Mr. Turns Me On, he’s the reason I might get fired from my first ever teaching job.
About the Author: 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.
Colleen Hoover Introduces a Scene from her New Paranormal Romance Layla!
This month bestselling author Colleen Hoover released her very first paranormal romance, Layla. Today Colleen shares one of her very favorite parts of the book and introduces the scene. Colleen, take it away!
“Leeds and Layla have just met about an hour before this scene takes place. I wouldn’t say they experienced insta-love, but it was definitely an immediate attraction. Leeds is lonely and withdrawn from life, while Layla is the opposite. She’s over the top and fun and everything Leeds isn’t. He’s a musician who has never released any of his own music due to insecurities and doubt. But Layla lights a fire in him and uncovers the confidence about his music that he keeps buried.”
Excerpt from Layla by Colleen Hoover
Layla leans in and I expect her to kiss me, but instead she whispers, “Play me something,” against my mouth. Then she moves to the couch and lies down. “Play something worthy of that piano,” she says.
She crosses her legs at her ankles and lets one of her arms dangle off the couch. She runs her finger against the hardwood floor while she waits for me to start playing, but I can’t stop staring at her. I’m not sure there’s another woman on this planet who could make me want to stare at her without blinking until my eyes dry up, but she’s looking at me expectantly.
“What if you don’t like my music?” I ask. “Will you still let me kiss you?”
She smiles gently. “Does the song mean something to you?”
“I wrote it using pieces of my soul.”
“Then you have nothing to worry about,” she says quietly.
I spin around on the bench and place my fingers on the keys. I hesitate for a moment before playing the song. I’ve never performed it for anyone before. The only person I’ve ever wanted to sing it for is my father, and he’s no longer alive. His death is the reason I wrote this in the first place.
I’ve never been nervous while playing Garrett’s songs onstage, but this feels different. This is personal, and despite the fact that there’s only one person in the audience right now, it feels like the most intense audience I’ve ever performed for.
I fill my lungs with air and slowly release it as I begin to play.
That night I stopped believing in heaven
I can’t believe in a god that cruel
Can you?
That night I stopped praying on my knees
But I don’t pray standing either
Do you?
That night I closed the door and closed the
window
I’ve been sitting in the dark
Are you?
That night I learned happiness is a fairy tale
A thousand pages read aloud
By you
That night I stopped believing in God
You were ours, he didn’t care, he
Took you
So that night I stopped . . .
I stopped . . .
I just
Stopped.
That night I stopped.
I stopped.
I just stopped.
That night I stopped.
I . . .
When I’m finished playing the song, I fold my hands in my lap. I’m a little hesitant to turn around and look at her. The whole room got quiet after I played the last note. So quiet—it feels like all the sound was sucked out of the house. I can’t even hear her breathing.
I close the cover to the piano and then slowly spin around on the bench. She’s wiping her eyes, staring up at the ceiling.
“Wow,” she whispers. “I wasn’t expecting that. I feel like you just stomped on my chest.”
That’s how I’ve felt since I first laid eyes on her tonight.
“I like how it ends,” she says. She sits up on the couch and tucks her legs beneath her. “You just stop in the middle of the sentence. It’s so perfect. So powerful.”
I wasn’t sure if she’d realize the intentional ending, but the fact that she does makes me all the more enamored of her. ***
My Review:
Woza! Do you like mystery? Do you like paranormal elements? Do you like romance? Do you like to start a book and immediately get sucked in and end up ignoring everything you were supposed to do that day and read the entire thing in one sitting because you simply HAD to know what was going to happen next? Then LAYLA is the book for you!
I loved everything about this book from the characters, to the setting, to the mystery surrounding out hero and heroine. It’s hard to describe this book because it really has so many elements to it but they all add up to one heluva story I KNOW you will love.
Thank you, Colleen, for a FAB read!
Five Loves
About the Book Title: LaylaAuthor: Colleen HooverRelease Date: December 8, 2020Publisher: Montlake
Summary When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences. Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.
Author Biography
Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including the bestselling women’s fiction novel It Ends with Us and the bestselling psychological thriller Verity. She has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three years in a row—for Confess (2015), It Ends with Us (2016), and Without Merit (2017). Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Hoover and her family founded the Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service that offers signed novels donated by authors. All profits go to various charities each month to help those in need. Hoover lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys.
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Excerpt:
I reach for the chair in front of me. Instead of finding leather, my fingers brush against something else. Something warmer. Something smoother and rougher all at the same time.
My heart jumps in my chest at the same moment that my head snaps to the side.
Oh. Shit.
The most beautiful set of hazel eyes I’ve ever seen traps my gaze. The warmth of the chocolate brown is cooled by the spring green embedded in the orbs. Gold flecks twinkle as the man slowly withdraws his palm away from mine.
I open my mouth, but I’ve somehow forgotten how to speak.
“Hey,” he says, his southern drawl rippling across my ears. “You can have it.”
I shake my head to try to jolt myself out of the haze I’m in. “I … I can have what?”
His full, pouty lips split into a sexy smirk. “I meant the chair, but if there’s something else on your mind, just let me know.”
My heart flutters in my chest as a wave of heat courses through my body from head to toe.
A couple of days’ scruff peppers a sharp, chiseled jaw. His skin is sun-kissed and imperfect and there’s the slightest mole beneath his left eye that gives a bit of softness to his appearance. His body is long, well over six feet, with broad shoulders and a thick chest.
It’s one heck of a picture.
Slowly, oh-so-slowly, the fog in my brain lifts.
“Can I buy you a drink?” he asks.
A crazy idea pops into my brain. The longer that I watch the stranger peer at me from under his thick lashes, the more it seems possible.
Crazy, yes, but possible.
“Want to do me a favor instead?” I ask before I can talk myself out of it.
My chest rises and falls in quick succession as he, and I, ponder my question. He narrows his eyes as he undoubtedly considers why a woman he just met might need his help.
His heavy brows tug together. “That depends on what it is.”
Blood pours through my ears as I realize I’m teetering on the edge of something impetuous. Again. I’m about to do the one thing I told myself I wouldn’t do.
Wasn’t I going to put the brakes on this kind of thing? Didn’t I swear that I was not going to tangle myself up with men? Wasn’t I going to save myself time and energy until good men come back into the universe?
I look up and down his long, muscled body.
I bet he’s a damn good man.
“Are you going to ask or not?” he asks, killing me softly with a playful quirk of his brow.
Screw it.
I take a quick lungful of air and commit to this insanity. “I’m going to need an answer to two questions.”
“Shoot.”
“Quickly.”
He grins. “I can’t answer them if you don’t ask them, beautiful.”
I steady myself against the term of endearment and stay focused.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” I ask.
His eyes sparkle with mischief. “I like where this is going.”
“That’s not an answer and we’re running out of time.”
“No,” he says hurriedly. “Hard no. Definitely not. No girlfriend.”
“Second question …” I take another deep breath and then go in for the kill. “Will you be my fake boyfriend for five minutes?”
His grin knocks the breath I’m holding right out of me. “When do we start?”
For Hollis and Larissa, starting is the easy part. It’s ending their fake relationship that’s hard. Fall in love with them here: https://geni.us/Hq6TNb
Blurb: How hard can it be?
That was the question rolling around Larissa Mason’s mind just before she asked Hollis Hudson to be her fake boyfriend. It was only supposed to be for five minutes, after all. Granted, that was also before she felt his hand on the small of her back as he charmed the heck out of her family.
She hadn’t heard his laugh yet either.
And it was definitely before she saw the football god shirtless. Otherwise, she would’ve had an idea of just how hard some things could be. It turns out that pretending to be in love with a crazily handsome, somewhat enigmatic, and absolutely unforgettable tight end (that has an amazing tight end) is easy. Reminding herself that just because opposites attract doesn’t mean they’re forever is much harder.
What they have isn’t love—it’s a relationship pact. Right?
About the Author: USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.
She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.
I know what you must think of me now that my secret is out, and I can’t say I’m not disappointed. I bloody loved that you saw me as someone other than the bloke my entire country has deemed unworthy of love. Maybe I am, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting you as desperately as I do.
Before you toss this letter in the rubbish bin, just hear me out.
Soon, I’ll need to return home to face the critics—the harsh reminder of the man they all believe me to be, the Forever Bachelor—and you’ll continue to live out your dreams here while nannying the twins. Simon and Bridget are so very lucky to have you.
All I ask is for one night with you, one night to remove the facade we’ve exhibited for the past two weeks to mask our true feelings.
Because I want you, Chelsea Banks, more than I’ve wanted any woman in my entire life, and I dare to imagine that you might just want me too.
I opened the door and stepped out onto the patio to find Liam swimming laps across the water. He reached the opposite end, flipped around, kicked off the wall, and swam toward me. I stepped around the patio table and chairs to walk toward the edge of the pool. I waited for him to come up for air—to introduce myself and to kindly ask that he turn down the volume. Simon had mentioned this Liam guy was someone’s little brother—but when my eyes registered the body that swam past the underwater pool lights, I realized I wasn’t dealing with anyone little at all. Simon’s friend’s little brother, Liam, was very much a man.
Liam hadn’t seen me, but I saw enough to know he was tall, lean, and sculpted. He cut through the water like an experienced swimmer, only popping his head up to sip the air before twisting back below the surface.
A knot twisted in my chest when my eyes skimmed the man’s taut muscles as he pushed against the water with one fluid stroke then another. Every ridge and line of his back, arms, shoulders, and calves perfectly defined his strength. He swam another two laps, keeping his pace and taking sips of air so effortlessly I questioned if he had gills for lungs.
The man was an athlete, a beast underwater, and for the second time that day, I found myself transfixed by a stranger.
I stepped back slowly, suddenly anxious about interrupting his intense workout, but on my next step backward, I failed to remember the round table and chairs I’d skirted around to get to the pool. The back of my leg hit a chair, making it scrape across the travertine. When I reached back to catch my fall, I could find nothing to grip.
I landed hard on my ass, my palms slamming into the surface behind me. I howled at the pain that shot up my wrist. Of course, that caught Liam’s attention. His head popped out from the water, and he swam toward the edge. He shot out of the pool so fast, I didn’t even have time to react.
“Who’s there?” he boomed like I was the one who’d just intruded on his peaceful night.
My defenses were on alert. I pushed my shoulders back as the pain in my wrist faded, and my chin tilted up as I prepared to let him have it. But then my eyes caught on the man’s face, now illuminated in the dim orange patio lighting. It only took a second to realize we’d met before.
He was shirtless, dripping wet, with tattoos fully covering both arms, and his eyes were free of the dark shades that had hid them earlier—but I knew he was the same arrogant man who had passed me at Spill the Tea.
“Well, hello again, love.” Liam flashed me a beaming smile, a wicked gleam in his beautiful green eyes. “Heading out for that proper shag I hope.”
Shit.
AUTHOR BIO
K.K. Allen is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author who writes heartfelt and inspirational contemporary romance stories. K.K. graduated from the University of Washington with an Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences degree and currently resides in central Florida with her ridiculously handsome little dude who owns her heart.
K.K. published her first contemporary romance, Up in the Treehouse, in 2016 which went on to win the Romantic Times 2016 Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best New Adult Book of the Year.
With K.K.’s love for inspirational and coming of age stories involving heartfelt narratives and honest emotions, you can be assured to always be surprised by what K.K. releases next.
Don’t fall for your roommate…especially when he’s your best friend. Cooper Bennett is my best friend. That’s all he is and all he ever will be. Nothing will change that. Accidentally seeing him naked? Please. So not a big deal. Having less-than-tame thoughts? I mean, have you seen this guy? Who could blame me? Kissing him? It was a one-time mistake, and it will not be repeated. Falling into bed with him? Uh-oh… It’s fine. We’re fine. We’re Caroline and Cooper. Best friends until the end. Nothing has ever come our way that we couldn’t survive together. Surely, we can handle this too…
I’m a Missouri-raised gal, but currently live in North Carolina with my US Marine husband and 9-year-old dog. I spend my days begging him for a cat, and I survive off coffee, pizza, and sarcasm. When I’m not writing, you can find me binge-watching various TV shows, especially Supernatural and One Tree Hill. I like cold weather, buy more paperbacks than I’ll ever read, and I never say no to brownies.
Writing is my passion, and this is just the beginning of my journey.
Blurb:I haven’t seen her in three years. I haven’t talked to her since the kiss.So why am I on a plane, flying across the world to spend a week with her in Germany?One word: Pops.My life’s a mess. My possible football career is hanging on by a thread. I’m driving the roads of Germany in honor of Pops with the one girl I can never have.And I’m sharing a bed with her, the girl I’ve measured everyone else up to, while desperately trying to not to touch her. We made a pact growing up, never to get romantic with each other – never fall in love. And I’m about to break that pact. For good.
The Romantic Pact is the second book in the Kings of Football series. Each book is a standalone even though you will read about the characters in each book, it’s not necessary to read them in order.
The Romantic Pact is Crew’s story and it’s a friends to lovers romance. It is a slow burn as we get to follow along when Crew and Hazel are sent on a trip through Germany. It’s a great book to read around Christmas or whenever you want those warm fuzzy, holiday feelings.
There isn’t much of the sports aspect in this one aside from knowing that Crew’s last season of college football was horrendous and he’s unsure what’s in store for his future. This story focuses on two friends who lost touch over the years and rekindling that friendship.
Hazel and Crew learn a lot on this journey – not just about themselves, but one another and it’s all thanks to Pops (he broke me in this book). This is probably one of Meghan’s more heartfelt stories with a touch of humor here and there.
The Romantic Pact has a connection to one of Meghan’s other books and once you make that connection (I did early on in the book), you will really enjoy this one even more. But if you haven’t, no worries! You will love this book just as much without that smidge of info.
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.
New York Times bestselling author Samantha Chase is kicking off a new series in 2021 and we are so excited to be reveal the first cover today! Check out the cover for THE ENGAGEMENT EMBARGO and pre-order your copy today!
About THE ENGAGEMENT EMBARGO
Four failed engagements. One year-long hiatus on women.
Elliott Sullivan loves being in love, but after his latest romantic disaster, his friends and family finally put their foot down—no relationships or proposals for at least a year. Ready for his heart not to be squashed under another sexy high-heel, he agrees to fully embrace life as a perpetual bachelor. Which should be easy—especially when he recruits his sister’s best friend for help. Surely he won’t fall for her, no matter how perfect she seems…
Skylar isn’t sorry to see Elliott’s latest relationship go up in flames. She’s had a crush on him for as long as she remembers—not that anything can ever happen there. So when Elliott asks for her help to stop him from breaking his dating embargo, she jumps at the chance. They’ve spent time together before and nothing has come of it. So what could possibly go wrong this time?
Sticking to his embargo would be fine if all this time with Skye wasn’t making Elliott wonder if maybe the perfect girl had been in front of him all along.
Pre-order THE ENGAGEMENT EMBARGO today! Amazon | Apple | Kobo
About SAMANTHA CHASE
Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance. She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than forty titles under her belt! When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Scrabble or Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 25 years and their two sons in North Carolina.
Who’s the mystery woman who just walked into my brewery?
I’m not the only one from my Alaskan small town asking themselves that question. But I’m positive, I’m the only one in Sunrise Bay undressing the pretty blonde in my head. Everything about her, from her make-up to her high heels says she’s a fish out of water.
Whispers and speculations run rampant until the secret of who she is gets uncovered. Then the rumor mill goes into overdrive when she announces she’s staying to open a bookstore in the building next to mine—throwing a big wrench into my plans to buy that empty building.
I quickly find myself in a tug-of-war since my business partner/brother is upset she’s ruined the opportunity to expand our business. I try to keep my distance, but I’ve got one sister with a gossip column on the local radio station and two meddling grandmas setting me up as a tour director.
And now I kind of like the idea of our new neighbor staying. But small-town life isn’t for the weak—time will tell if she has what it takes to be one of us.
Piper Rayne, or Piper and Rayne, whichever you prefer because we’re not one author, we’re two. Yep, you get two USA Today Bestselling authors for the price of one.
Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have “Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle” (okay…you caught us, that’s our tagline).
A little about us… We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We’re both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We’re both chauffeurs to our kids.
Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.
About the Book: Title: LaylaAuthor: Colleen HooverRelease Date: December 8, 2020 Publisher: Montlake
Summary: When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences. Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.
(My review is coming next week but in the meantime, I have to say…..I LOVED THIS BOOK! ~Jilly)
Author Q& A:
You have written in many different genres and always keep your fans wanting more. For Layla, you are dipping your toes into a paranormal story that has lots of secrets. How do you describe Layla without giving anything away? #spoilerfreezone What is supposed to be a short, romantic getaway for new couple Leeds and Layla turns into an extended vacation full of bizarre occurrences. But no matter how much Layla wants to leave, Leeds is more focused on finding answers for the unexplainable.
The paranormal elements in your story are faint…just a whisper…until they take over. What was it like adding another worldly twist to your writing for the first time? It was HARD. Super hard. I love using my imagination, but I also love realistic stories, so I found myself trying to pull back on things I didn’t feel were realistic. But then it got a lot easier when I decided to just make Leeds’s reactions sort of mirror what I would do orsay in those early moments. I put a lot of my own thoughts in Leeds’s character. He finds it hard to explain some of the things that happen, so his reactions are probably what my reactions would be at first. Until there was no room left for doubt, anyway. Then his actions veer very far from what mine would have been.
Love-at-first-sight is such a mundane phrase for what these two share. Their passionate relationship seems to move in fast-forward. What is it about these characters that make their connection so instantaneous? I knew where the story was going to go, so I needed their meet-cute to be believable, fun, and I wanted them to be a couple readers would root for. I probably rewrote that first chapter dozens of times,but I focused mainly on their banter. Sometimes we meet people we instantly click with on so many different levels. Leeds and Layla clicked with their sarcasm, their humor, their taste in music. And she read him without even knowing him. To Leeds that was special. I think he felt seen in a world where he’s often overlooked.
It becomes somewhat of an inside joke between your couple that, before Layla, Leeds’ always wore a look like he was“dying inside.” The truth is that he was deeply unhappy before meeting Layla. How does she change his life? Leeds is lonely and holding back on his dreams because of doubts. Leeds sees something different in Layla. She’s carefree, fun and gives him confidence to follow his dreams. In a sense, I think she’s his missing puzzle piece. She fills the parts of him that are empty.
Before Leeds, Layla doesn’t have a real direction in her life. What does this romance provide to her and why is she so grateful to have found her hero? Layla is fresh out of college, living with her parents and unemployed. Leeds’s career gives her focus, and being with him inTennessee got her out of a place where she probably felt useless and unproductive.
Can readers expect more paranormal elements in your books moving forward? I’ll never say never!
Direct link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/07c2363f263
Author Biography Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including the bestselling women’s fiction novel It Ends with Us and the bestselling psychological thriller Verity. She has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three years in a row—for Confess (2015), It Ends with Us (2016), and Without Merit (2017). Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Hoover and her family founded the Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service that offers signed novels donated by authors. All profits go to various charities each month to help those in need. Hoover lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys.
What happens when the king of football meets the queen of nothing? Find out in The Revenge Pact, an all-new emotional and swoon-worthy enemies-to-lovers standalone romance from Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills!
River Tate is a god on campus. The king of football. A tattooed bad boy with gunmetal eyes that see right through you. The only chink in his armor is her, the girl he pretends doesn’t exist, the forbidden one with the shy smile and lavender hair.
Anastasia Bailey is a nobody. The queen of nothing. An outsider with the face of an angel and a body made for sin. The only chink in her armor is him, her boyfriend’s frat brother, the football player who hates her.
But when Anastasia’s life crashes down, River’s the one who sweeps in and picks up the pieces. Torn between loyalty, lies, and secrets, he battles the temptation to take everything from her when they make their revenge pact.
He can’t tell her no. Because revenge (or love) is sweet, and once you get a taste, the craving never ends.
Download your copy or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited today! Amazon: https://amzn.to/32SW1MS Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/RevengePact
Add The Revenge Pact to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/35CdX01
Excerpt
River
“Why is the elevator so slow?” she mutters.
“Tell me three things you’re grateful for,” I say.
She does a double take. “Is this where I’m like your…pet project? Don’t feel sorry for me.”
Rainbow, sorry is the last thing I feel for you.
I want you under me.
Deep and hard.
“How are things with Donovan?” I ask.
Her throat bobs. “I-I can’t talk to you about him. I mean, yeah, um, it…doesn’t feel right, you know, to him.”
Right. He’s her boyfriend and my frat brother.
The door opens and she slips out, her arm brushing against my chest. I follow, sucking down the electricity between us.
She blows out a breath. “I know what this is, why you’re being nice to me—”
“Yeah? Tell me, because I can’t figure it out,” I snap, annoyed she won’t open up while the other side is pissed at myself for asking. “Trust me, I wish I didn’t…” I stop, my jaw clenching.
She stops at the door to class and faces me. “Your paper. I’m sorry I can’t help you, I really am. I love helping others, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for us…” She bites her lip, her gaze avoiding mine. “There’s something about you and me—” She halts and looks down at her feet. “Anyway, I know a few students who tutor athletes. Let me give you their names—”
“No one but you, Anastasia.”
“What? Why?”
Instinct takes over and I back her against the wall, towering over her. I tilt her chin up, and she doesn’t speak or move, just breathing fast, as my hand slides around to her nape. A hum of heat goes through my body as my hands tangle in her hair.
“River…what…” Pink rises on her cheeks as her lashes flutter.
Every time, I’m pushing a little more, the dark side of me winning. Monday. Her apartment. Now.
I could kiss her right now, but it’s wrong, immensely, and I’m being bad, so bad…
She gazes up at me, her eyes flaring, the gold around her pupils darkening. She swallows as goose bumps appear on her neck.
A primal sound builds in my throat.
Anger.
Frustration.
Loyalty.
Dammit. I shouldn’t be this close, shouldn’t touch her—
“I’ll wait.” I grind my teeth and step back.
Her lips part, a small puff of air coming out. She looks at my mouth. “For what?”
The lethal side of me, the one itching to play this game no matter the consequences, tries to take over and speak the truth. I shove it down.
You, I say in my head.
Leaving her there, I sweep past her and go to my seat.
Five fucking rows back.
The Revenge Pact is the first book in the Kings of Football series and each book can easily be read as standalone. Ilsa does a magnificent job starting this series off the best way possible.
I loved this book so much. We meet River, Crew and Hollis at the beginning, but Ilsa blends that to focus in on River and who he is He may have this tattooed, playboy, bad-boy jock vibe but it’s what he keeps hidden from everyone outside his closest friends that really shines – he huge heart and kind soul. River melted my heart.
Anastasia recently moved to Braxton and shortly after she starting her college year there, she started dating River’s frat brother. She may have the boyfriend, great friends but still doesn’t feel like she fits in. She has experienced so much in her life that has given her an outlook on things through a different perspective. She sees more than what’s on the surface
This is a slow-burn, enemies to lovers, college sports romance. There is a lot of humor and whit blended beautifully into this story. There is so much angst and sexual tension that also bleeds onto these pages. Ilsa has truly written one hell of a story that melted my heart. I loved River, Anastasia and the rest of the gang. There were some heartfelt moments, so many good times – I felt like I was watching a movie play out.
Ilsa delivered a story that is chocked full of every tidbit we love about a great romance story. I cannot wait to see what we get in the other two books from Meghan Quinn and Adriana Locke.
About Ilsa Madden-Mills Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Ilsa Madden-Mills is best known for her angsty new adult romances and romantic comedies.
Eight of her eleven novels have placed in the Amazon Top 10 Best-seller List: Dirty English #1; Fake Fiancée and I Dare You #2; I Bet You, Filthy English, and Very Bad Things #6; Boyfriend Bargain #8; The Last Guy, her collaboration with Tia Louise, #4.
A former high school English teacher, she adores all things Pride and Prejudice, and of course, Mr. Darcy is her ultimate hero.
She’s addicted to frothy coffee beverages, cheesy magnets, and any book featuring unicorns and sword-wielding females. Feel free to stalk her online.
Connect with Ilsa Amazon: http://amzn.to/2nY2pxT Instagram: http://bit.ly/35xfNfo Stay up to day with Ilsa by joining her mailing list: http://bit.ly/2ZWaTYh Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2EESfM9 Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2GaR6cn Book+Main: http://bit.ly/2s4j9ci Website: https://www.ilsamaddenmills.com
Join her Unicorn Girls Group on FB, the best way to keep up: http://bit.ly/37B6Nay Sign up for phone alert for book releases (max of 4) Text ROMANCE to 21000
CHECK OUT THE OTHER STANDALONES IN THE SERIES!
Best-selling authors Ilsa Madden-Mills, Meghan Quinn and Adriana Locke,deliver three stand-alone romances about college football players finding true love while on the verge of losing everything.
THE ROMANTIC PACT by Meghan Quinn Release Date: December 10th
Synopsis: I haven’t seen her in three years.
I haven’t talked to her since the kiss.
So why am I on a plane, flying across the world to spend a week with her in Germany?
One word: Pops.
My life’s a mess. My possible football career is hanging on by a thread. I’m driving the roads of Germany in honor of Pops with the one girl I can never have. And I’m sharing a bed with her, the girl I’ve measured everyone else up to, while desperately trying to not to touch her.
We made a pact growing up, never to get romantic with each other – never fall in love.
And I’m about to break that pact. For good.
PREORDER NOW: https://amzn.to/2KcbLUU
Add to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54451134-the-romantic-pact
THE RELATIONSHIP PACT by Adriana Locke Release Date: December 17th
Synopsis How hard can it be?
That was the question rolling around Larissa Mason’s mind just before she asked Hollis Hudson to be her fake boyfriend.
It was only supposed to be for five minutes, after all.
Granted, that was also before she felt his hand on the small of her back as he charmed the heck out of her family.
She hadn’t heard his laugh yet either.
And it was definitely before she saw the football god shirtless. Otherwise, she would’ve had an idea of just how hard some things could be.
It turns out that pretending to be in love with a crazily handsome, somewhat enigmatic, and absolutely unforgettable tight end (that has an amazing tight end) is easy.
Reminding herself that just because opposites attract doesn’t mean they’re forever is much harder.
What they have isn’t love—it’s a relationship pact. Right?
Preorder Now: https://amzn.to/36HMIR2
Add to Goodreads: https://geni.us/6A5zx
Sign up to receive an email when it’s live: https://geni.us/AmazonAlert Or text the word Adriana to 21000 (US numbers only)
Sign up to receive an email when it’s live: https://geni.us/AmazonAlert Or text the word Adriana to 21000 (US numbers only)
Blurb: How hard can it be?
That was the question rolling around Larissa Mason’s mind just before she asked Hollis Hudson to be her fake boyfriend. It was only supposed to be for five minutes, after all. Granted, that was also before she felt his hand on the small of her back as he charmed the heck out of her family.
She hadn’t heard his laugh yet either.
And it was definitely before she saw the football god shirtless. Otherwise, she would’ve had an idea of just how hard some things could be. It turns out that pretending to be in love with a crazily handsome, somewhat enigmatic, and absolutely unforgettable tight end (that has an amazing tight end) is easy. Reminding herself that just because opposites attract doesn’t mean they’re forever is much harder.
What they have isn’t love—it’s a relationship pact. Right?
About the Author: USA Today and Washington Post bestselling author Adriana Locke lives and breathes books. After years of slightly obsessive relationships with the flawed bad boys created by other authors, Adriana has created her own.
She resides in the Midwest with her husband, sons, and two dogs. She spends a large amount of time playing with her kids, drinking coffee, and cooking. You can find her outside if the weather’s nice and there’s always a piece of candy in her pocket.
