FOREVER WITH YOU by Kaye Rockwell – Featured New Release

FOREVER WITH YOU

Kaye Rockwell

BLURB

A billionaire and his sister’s best friend.
They can’t stand one another but kept each other’s secrets over the years.
Now she’s in trouble and the only way to protect her is a marriage of convenience.
The only thing is… that has to be a secret too.

This book is an enemies to lovers, best friend’s older brother, billionaire romance featuring the eldest of the Torres siblings, Stephen and his sister’s best friend, Vanessa who he has a hate-hate relationship with. In this book they are forced to enter a secret marriage of convenience.

Buy Links:

Amazon Kindle

ABOUT KAYE

Kaye is a Romance Author who spent the majority of her childhood falling in love with fictional characters, swooning over romcoms and teen dramas, singing and dancing to musicals AND daydreaming about her own Happily-Ever-After that lead to her writing her own love stories.

Social Media Links:

Website ➜ kayerockwell.com
Instagram ➜ @thenomaddreamer
TikTok ➜ @thenomaddreamer
Facebook ➜ @authorkayerockwell
Twitter ➜ @authorkrockwell
Goodreads ➜ goodreads.com/kayerockwell

WHISKEY ON OUR SHOES by Tonya Preece – Pop-Up Blog-Hop: Review and Giveaway

WHISKEY ON OUR SHOES

Tonya Preece

Contemporary Romance / New Adult

Publisher: Champagne Book Group

Page Count: 238 pages

Publication Date: February 12, 2023

Scroll down for a giveaway!

Eva dodges the fans, media, and gossip that follow her supermodel mom and rock star family members by wearing disguises. After an aimless gap year, she struggles to figure out what she wants from life. She moves in with her famous guitar god brother in Austin while he recovers from a drunken stage stunt accident and tries to stay sober. When a hot Texas cowboy named Alex takes Eva by surprise, she risks her safety and security of anonymity by letting him into her unconventional life.

Alex is captivated by Eva and promises to protect her privacy. Yet he has a secret of his own—the fling he had with an older woman is fraught with scandalous potential for him and now Eva. He broke free of that mistake months ago, or so he thought. As things heat up with Eva, his old flame returns and won’t leave him alone.

Just when Alex thinks he has the reins on the situation, his ex teams up with a gossip reporter hell-bent on invading Eva’s privacy. The resulting exposé, with a sly spin on a recent encounter with his ex, is Alex’s worst nightmare, and Eva’s unsure what to believe. Can she face the world with Alex at her side or will she return into hiding?

Purchase on Amazon:

Paperback │ eBook

I don’t normally read young adult romance, preferring love stories with main characters thirty and older since those are what I write but every once in a while, I shake things up and try something different. When the opportunity to join the blog hop for Whiskey on Our Shoes came up, I jumped in right away because the cover and blurb caught my interest.

I’m glad I did because I enjoyed this coming-of-age story. I find that my prejudices did not apply. The main characters Eva and Alex are youthful but are not childish. They are appropriately daring to experience new things and at the same time cautious of making mistakes. Their reluctance to share their secrets is natural and relatable even for older adults like me.

Except for a couple of detestable secondary characters, I like the people in this story. I especially like Eva for her genuine kindness particularly towards Alex’s sister Lena and her lack of desire to be in the spotlight. She’s down-to-earth despite her celebrity background and incredibly easy to root for. I also like Alex for his sweetness and his display of respect towards his parents. His confusion with regard to Angie appeared authentic and it was totally understandable.

The depiction of family dynamics, both the solidness of Alex’s and the dysfunction of Eva’s, seems to be reflective of real life. That for me is a plus, along with the balance in the light and emotional moments.

Ms. Preece crafted an engaging and well-paced story that is current, fresh, and appealing for romance readers of all ages. The focus on consent is commendable. It’s more slow burn than I prefer but it fits the characters in the story.

There’s also a great sense of place. The descriptions transported me to Austin, Florence, and San Antonio, which made me miss my former residence. I’m glad I get to visit through the pages of this book.

Thanks to Lone Star Lit for including me in the blog tour and bringing to my attention a fantastic source of entertainment.

Tonya Preece writes romance and contemporary young adult fiction and incorporates music into all her books in one way or another. She lives near Austin, TX where she’s a small business manager for a forensic engineering firm. She and her husband enjoy traveling, live music, wine, and spoiling their fur babies.

Website ◆ Instagram ◆ Amazon

Goodreads ◆ BookBub ◆ Twitter ◆ Facebook

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

THREE WINNERS

Grand Prize: autographed paperback & $10 Amazon gift card;

2nd Prize: autographed paperback;

3rd Prize: eBook

(US only; ends midnight, CST, 7/14/23)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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WHEN I MET YOU by Kaye Rockwell – Featured New Release

WHEN I MET YOU

Kaye Rockwell

BLURB

College proves to be tougher than Kim expected it to be and with the rising popularity of her new online boutique, she leans on her friends and Kyle to support her.

But when Kyle’s cover of a song goes viral on social media, it catches the eye of the original talent and the most sought out music label in the world, leaving them with a tough choice.

What happens when your dreams come true
but it means leaving the one you love behind?

Buy Links:

Kindle Unlimited
Paperback

ABOUT KAYE

Social Media Links:

Website ➜ kayerockwell.com

Instagram ➜ https://www.instagram.com/thenomaddreamer/

TikTok ➜ https://www.tiktok.com/@thenomaddreamer

Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/authorkayerockwell/

Twitter ➜ https://twitter.com/authorkrockwell

Goodreads ➜ https://www.goodreads.com/kayerockwell

LOATHE AT FIRST SIGHT by Suzanne Park – Release Day Feature

LOATHE AT FIRST SIGHT

by

Suzanne Park

Melody Joo is thrilled to start as video game producer, but her dream job can be far from a dream. Namely, a team that consists of mostly male co-workers who make the term “misogyny” pale in comparison to their obnoxious comments and an infuriating — yet distractingly handsome — intern Nolan MacKenzie, a.k.a. “the guy who got hired because his uncle is the boss.”

While joking with a friend, she creates a mobile game that has male strippers fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Suddenly, Melody’s “joke” is her company’s most high-profile project — and Melody’s running the show.

With her pet project about to launch, Melody suddenly faces a slew of complications, including a social media trolling scandal that could end her career. When Nolan is appointed a key member of her team, Melody’s sure he’ll be useless. But as they grow closer, she sees he’s smart and sexy, but she’s here to work—and nothing more. She suspects one of her co-workers is behind the trolling sabotage. Could the man she’s falling hard for help her play the game to win—in work and love?

Tackling trolling to loathful colleagues, Park’s writing pops off the page as a contemporary reflection of women everywhere navigating the obstacles of love and career with a little bit of struggle and a whole lot of humor.

“[A] punchy adult debut set in the world of video game design. Park makes tough topics go down easy by couching them in wry humor and lighthearted romance, and her fierce, snarky heroine is irresistible. This smart rom-com is a winner.” — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

“Bursts with humor, heart, and great energy. I loved it! Park is a hilarious new voice in women’s fiction.” — Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient

Buy links:

Amazon Kobo Barnes & Noble Apple Google Play
Indiebound Books-A-Million Harper Collins

Suzanne Park is a Korean-American writer who was born and raised in Tennessee. In her former life as a stand up comedian, she was a finalist in the Oxygen Network’s “Girls Behaving Badly” talent search, and appeared on BET’s “Coming to the Stage.” She found this to be the funniest thing in her comedy career because, well, she is not black. Suzanne was also the winner of the Seattle Sierra Mist Comedy Competition, and was a semi-finalist in NBC’s “Stand Up For Diversity” showcase in San Francisco. Suzanne graduated from Columbia University and received an MBA Degree from UCLA. After spending many years as a tech marketing executive, she turned to writing fiction full-time. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, female offspring, and a sneaky rat that creeps around on her back patio. In her spare time, she procrastinates. Keep up with her at https://www.suzannepark.com, Facebook and Twitter.

SOMETHING REAL by Allegra Johnson – Happy Release Day Review

SOMETHING REAL

by

Allegra Johnson

SYNOPSIS

Never say never.

For Taylyn, life has been a series of disappointments and heartache. Every relationship she’s had has ended in tears … and the occasional restraining order. Swearing to never get into another relationship, Taylyn is prepared to live the single life. So why is she drawn to the hometown hero who already hurt her once?

Wishful thinking.

Declan was destined for the NFL until a dirty hit took him out of the game for good. Before leaving for college, Declan shared one amazing kiss with the girl he always wanted but could never have. Now he’s back in Silverton rebuilding his life without football, and she’s single. This time he’s going to get the girl. He just needs to convince her he’s not like all the others.

Can Taylyn allow herself to believe in love again? Can Declan prove he’s the one made to love her? Will they find a love that is Something Real?

** Something Real, Silverton Series 1, contains subject matter that may be uncomfortable for some readers. Those subjects include mental illness, suicide, alcoholism through self-medication, sexual assault, and emotional abuse. **

Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XYDP1YN/

ABOUT ALLEGRA

After a lifetime of sharing headspace with an ever-growing cast of characters, Allegra threw caution to the wind and wrote a story. Since that day she’s been living her crazy author life writing love stories and happy endings. Originally from Massachusetts Allegra now resides in Southern California. When Allegra is not busy at work in her writing cave she enjoys spending time with her family, connection with her readers, procrastinating, and napping. You can usually find Allegra fluttering around Romancelandia trying to stay out of trouble while figuring out this author thing, one book at a time.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: (author page) https://fb.me/stumblingauthor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allegra_johnson/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Allegra55302863
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorallegrajohnson/
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/allegra-johnson
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15276339.Allegra_Johnson
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AllegraJohnson
Email: authorallegrajohnson@gmail.com

REVIEW

With her first full-length novel, Allegra Johnson tells an emotional story of a woman’s journey to self-acceptance and allowing love into her life. It’s a story of found family and true friendship.

While Something Real is categorized as a romance, it’s main focus is Taylyn, the female lead character. On one hand, her rash actions and defeatist thoughts make it difficult to like her; on another hand, the very same things make it easy to sympathize with her, especially after her horrific past is revealed. My heart ached for her the entire time I was reading the book and that’s a testament of how well Allegra wrote her character. Damaged and suffering from crippling mental health issues, Taylyn comes across as a real person, one who needs love, support, and understanding. I love that in this book there are people who provide exactly what she needs — her found family consisting of MacKenzie, Ella, and Autumn.

I also love that Declan was all-in right from the start and he never wavered in his determination to be part of Taylyn’s life. I only wish he has a bigger role in Taylyn’s path to sobriety although I recognize how that would be tough considering his ownership of a bar. Ultimately, it’s Taylyn’s resolve that has to manifest for such a transformation to happen.

Because of the dark themes, this book might not be for everyone. That’s a pity because Something Real is a darn good read.

ARRANGE ME by Katy Regnery – Release Day Review

My name is Courtney Jane Salinger…
and I’m sick of games.

Sick of the Friday night bar-scene-cum-meat-market.
Sick of the boy-girl, man-woman, Mars-Venus, flirtation-without-expectation, game-playing nonsense.
Sick of awful dates and one-night stands, booty calls and guys who don’t call back, mixed messages or NO messages and—and—and…I’m sick of all of it.

I’m done.
I just can’t do it anymore.
It’s too hard, and worse: little by little, it’s making me hard.
It’s breaking my heart.

What do I want?
That’s easy.

I want a house in suburbia with a white picket fence.
I want babies to buckle into a minivan.
But most of all, I want to be married.
I want a husband.

So I’ve made an important decision: I’m making my escape from the dating world and the single life.
I’ve filled out my application on ArrangeMe.com and I’m putting my fate into the hands of experts.

Is it a little scary?
Sure.
I mean, I have no idea who I’ll end up with.
After all, I’m planning to marry a complete stranger.

But between you and me?
I can’t wait.

Being arranged can’t possibly be worse than being single.
Can it?

Available here:

🌸Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P7D9W4K
🌸Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07P7D9W4K
🌸Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07P7D9W4K
🌸Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07P7D9W4K

REVIEW

I’ve been reading Katy Regnery’s books for several years now and I know I can count on her to provide a fresh take on any romance story. In Arrange Me, she once again proved why she’s one of the top indie authors in the world with its unconventional premise and relatable characters.

I’m now in my forties and have been happily married for over a decade, but I still remember being late-twenties and being incredibly frustrated with the singles scene. I get exactly where Courtney is coming from and so will plenty of people who have unfulfilled desires no matter the success they’ve accomplished in other areas of their lives. Her solution of participating in an arranged marriage might have been extreme, but she was taking control of her life and I like that in my heroines.

There’s much to like in this novel. The smooth storytelling, the inclusion of diverse characters, the flipping of roles in terms of age and financial status between the heroine and hero, the realism of living paycheck-to-paycheck in New York City, and all the theater talk. I’m a musical theater junkie and I appreciate all the discussions and mentions of my favorite shows, especially that of Miss Saigon.

If I have a minor complaint, it’s that the arranged husband seems to be giving more to the relationship than Courtney has. So far. I hope that’s addressed in Arrange Us. I’d hate for the imbalance to continue.

Overall, I enjoyed Arrange Me and I’m looking forward to the continuation of Courtney and her husband’s story. It’ll be interesting to see how Katy writes the fall-out of the rash decisions the main characters made and how they will resolve the serious issues they’re facing now that the honeymoon is over.