THE BEST MAN’S PROBLEM by Sera Taíno – Featured New Release

THE BEST MAN’S PROBLEM

Sera Taíno

He can’t forget the kiss he shared with the best man.

But is he the best man for him?

His sister’s wedding isn’t the ideal place for Rafael Navarro to reconnect with the man he kissed in a moment of reckless abandon. But it’s impossible to avoid best man Étienne Galois! The gorgeous Haitian photographer hasn’t forgotten the intimate moment they shared, even if Rafi is the most maddening person he’s ever met. Can the two find common ground, proving opposites not only attract—they can become lovers for life?

The Navarros

Book 1: A Delicious Dilemma
Book 2: The Best Man’s Problem
Book 3: The Trouble with Exes

Purchase from your favorite retailer here: https://serataino.com/thebestmansproblem

Sera Taíno writes romances exploring the joy of love in the context of community and family in all its rich diversity with an emphasis on inclusiveness.

She was selected for the Harlequin Romance Includes You Mentorship, an initiative launched in 2019 to reach out to diverse communities of writers and bring more own voices stories to romance readers.

Her debut novel, A Delicious Dilemma, published with Harlequin Special Edition, is now available.

When she is not writing, Sera can be found teaching her high school English class, reading, or wrangling her husband and two children.

Sign up for Sera’s newsletter here, or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, or BookBub to stay up to date.

I am so happy the Familia Navarro is back! I felt an affinity with this family (especially Papi Enrique) since Sera introduced them in A Delicious Dilemma and I’d been impatiently waiting for Val’s siblings to have their own stories. And now, they’re here beginning with Rafi’s story in The Best Man’s Problem.

Grab the moment because life is too short to waste any of it.”

I knew from the start that I would like this story because opposites attract is one of my favorite Romance tropes. And boy, are Rafi and Étienne opposites. Rafi is so controlled, super organized, and a lot uptight while Étienne is a little chaotic, seize-the-day kind of person. This is the main reason for all the pushing away that happens in the story. And the pull? It’s the physical attraction between them plus the similarity in their love of their respective families and fierce loyalty–Rafi to Val and Étienne to Philip.

I know my worth … I deserve to have someone love me with their whole chest.”

As always, Sera’s writing is lush. Her prose is lyrical and evocative. She makes me relate to the characters and feel for them. I may have related too much to Étienne because, during the point of high conflict, I wanted to kick Rafi’s stubborn ass. Oops!

Life has no loyalty to anyone, so you must live it without remorse.”

I love the diversity, the rich multicultural background, and the steam in Sera’s stories. The first two books in the series have been excellent. I can’t wait for Nati’s turn!

BRAINS AND BRAWN by R.L. Merrill – Release Day Feature

The cover on an eReader. Behind it is a set of drums.

BRAINS AND BRAWN

Summer of Hush Book 2

by

R.L. Merrill

Billy “Brains” Brennan has achieved rock stardom in not just one, but two chart-topping bands, but events from his past have him convinced he’s living on borrowed time. Brains and his brothers-in-Hush are ready to take the last cross-country Warped Tour by storm…until the actions of two drunk dudes with bad attitudes set off a chain of events that leave him incapacitated…and face-to-face with a handsome stranger that inexplicably feels like home—and not the home he fled at sixteen.

Chief Petty Officer Paul McNally has spent his 24-year career as a Navy Corpsman responding to emergencies and caring for wounded soldiers. When fate has him in the right place to provide aid to a fallen rockstar, it sends his life spiraling on a trajectory he never planned for. Instead of concentrating on his impending retirement and a second career, he’s now playing nursemaid to a fascinating younger man and falling in love—a fact he can’t seem to figure out how to explain to his adult son.

A health scare, band drama, and pain from their pasts threatens to end their fledgling relationship. Fate brought them together. It will take trust, honesty, and hope to keep them together.

Buy on Amazon. Free to borrow for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

Once upon a time… A teacher, tattoo collector, mom, and rock ‘n’ roll kinda gal opened up a doc and starting purging her demons. Several self-published books and a debut gay romance with Dreamspinner Press later, R.L. Merrill is still striving to find that perfect balance between real-life and happily ever after. She writes stories set in the places she loves most and loves connecting with other authors. She currently sits on the board for the San Francisco Area Romance Writers of America chapter as VP of Communications. You can find her lurking on social media where she loves connecting with readers, educating America’s youth, being a mom taxi to two busy kids, in the tattoo chair trying desperately to get that back piece finished, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area. Connect with Ro at www.rlmerrillauthor.com, www.twitter.com/rlmerrillauthor, or www.facebook.com/rowritesrocknromance. Stay Tuned for more Rock ‘n’ Romance.

THE SECRET OF YOU AND ME by Melissa Lenhardt – Book Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

THE SECRET OF YOU AND ME

by

MELISSA LENHARDT

Genre: Women’s Fiction / Romance
Publisher: Graydon House (Harlequin)
Date of Publication: August 4, 2020
Number of Pages: 352

Scroll down for the giveaway!

True love never fades—and old secrets never die . . .

Nora hasn’t looked back. Not since she fled Texas to start a new life. Away from her father’s volatile temper and the ever-watchful gaze of her claustrophobically conservative small town, Nora has freed herself. She can live—and love—however she wants. The only problem is that she also left behind the one woman she can’t forget. Now tragedy calls her back home to confront her past—and reconcile her future.

Sophie seems to have everything—a wonderful daughter, a successful husband, and a rewarding career. Yet underneath that perfection lies an explosive secret. She still yearns for Nora—her best friend and first love—despite all the years between them. Keeping her true self hidden hasn’t been easy, but it’s been necessary. So when Sophie finds out that Nora has returned, she hopes Nora’s stay is short. The life she has built depends on it.

But they both find that first love doesn’t fade easily. Memories come to light, passion ignites, and old feelings resurface. As the forces of family and intolerance that once tore them apart begin to reemerge, they realize some things may never change—unless they demand it.

PRAISE FOR THE SECRET OF YOU AND ME:

“Lenhardt convinces in her portrayal of the conflict between desire and control.” —Publishers Weekly

“A compelling story of second chances and being true to yourself.”
—Harper Bliss, bestselling author of Seasons of Love

“At turns sweet, sexy, and always respectful of these characters and their journeys to their most authentic selves, Lenhardt’s wonderful book is highly recommended for all fiction collections.” —Booklist

CLICK TO PURCHASE

Interabang Books
(Personalized/signed copies available through Interabang)

Amazon || IndieBound || Bookshop

A portion of royalties are going to the It Gets Better Project.
(Click for more details.)

There was a question in one of my Facebook groups about which book I’d want to see made into a movie and I responded with a favorite title. Now, I have an additional candidate — The Secret of You and Me. The story of Nora and Sophie’s passionate second-chance journey to their happy-ever-after despite small town prejudices and past hurts lends itself highly adaptable to film. All the elements are there: fully fleshed-out characters, complicated relationships, well-described small town setting, timely subjects, and involving storytelling.

I loved how Ms. Lenhardt developed the characters of Nora and Sophie. Both are imperfect, broken people who, through the course of the story, have to learn things about themselves that they needed to address separately in order to forge a future together.

While Nora was able to live her truth elsewhere, Sophie has a more difficult time accepting her real identity within the narrow confines of her conservative town. A bigoted mother, a husband with political ambitions, and a teenage daughter she doesn’t want to lose if she came out all contribute to Sophie’s quandary in making a choice. Similarly, Nora has her own internal conflicts to resolve with a family responsibility, a sick aunt, and a life in DC that’s hard for her to walk away from.

I also appreciate the balance of both opposing and supportive characters. For Nora’s always-complaining sister Mary there’s a mothering Emmadean. For Sophie’s heinous mother Brenda there’s her stalwart sponsor Todd.

Some serious topics are discussed in this book. Homosexuality, bisexuality, homophobia, PTSD, and alcoholism being the most prominent ones. For the most part, they’re treated with sensitivity and provide a positive representation of the LGBTQ community.

My main gripe is the overabundance of cheating. Sophie and Nora picking up where they left off eighteen years ago is an essential plot point but puts a tawdry element to their affair that can’t be erased by their true love for one another. Fidelity is an important issue (for me) in romance and the lack of it here gives me a little pause in an otherwise engaging story.

Overall, an entertaining read that highlights the message that love is universal.

Melissa Lenhardt is a women’s fiction, mystery, and historical fiction author. Her debut mystery, Stillwater, was a finalist for the 2014 Whidbey Writers’ MFA Alumni Emerging Writers Contest, and Sawbones, her historical-fiction debut, was hailed as a “thoroughly original, smart and satisfying hybrid, perhaps a new sub-genre: the feminist Western” by Lone Star Literary Life. The New York Times called her sixth novel, Heresy, “An all-out women-driven, queer, transgender, multiracial takeover of the Old West”. The Secret of You and Me, her seventh novel and her first contemporary women’s fiction novel, was published on August 4, 2020.

When Melissa isn’t writing, she’s thinking, “I really should be writing,” and eating Nutella or peanut butter straight out of the jar. A lifelong Texan, she lives in the Dallas area with her husband, two sons, and two Golden Retrievers.

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GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

TWO WINNERS each get a signed hardcover copy of the book and their choice of
either a FaceTime call or virtual book-club visit with the author.
August 11-21, 2020
(U.S. Only)

Click on the photo to enter.

A Rafflecopter giveaway

CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY.

Or, visit the blogs directly:

8/11/20	Author Interview	All the Ups and Downs
8/11/20	Review	Tangled in Text
8/12/20	Review	Momma on the Rocks
8/12/20	BONUS Post	Hall Ways Blog
8/13/20	Review	Carpe Diem Chronicles
8/14/20	Top Six List	Texas Book Lover
8/14/20	Review	Bibliotica
8/15/20	Excerpt	StoreyBook Reviews
8/16/20	Guest Post	The Page Unbound
8/17/20	Review	Missus Gonzo
8/17/20	Review	Rainy Days with Amanda
8/18/20	Audio Spotlight	Book Bustle
8/19/20	Review	Chapter Break Book Blog
8/19/20	Review	Reading by Moonlight
8/20/20	Review	It’s Not All Gravy
8/20/20	Review	That’s What She’s Reading