Wednesday, August 26, 2020

**EXCERPT REVEAL** The Anti-Boyfriend by Penelope Ward




Title: The Anti-Boyfriend
Author: Penelope Ward
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 31, 2020



Blurb

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.

At first, my neighbor Deacon frustrated me.

Sure, he was great-looking and friendly.

But our walls were thin, and on occasion, he’d bring women to his place and keep me awake while he “entertained” them.

As a single mother to an infant, I didn’t appreciate it.

So, finally it was my turn.

When my daughter wouldn’t stop wailing one night, Mr. Manwhore came knocking on my door.

Miraculously, at the sound of his voice, Sunny stopped crying. And when he held her…she eventually fell asleep in his arms.

Deacon was rough on the exterior, but apparently on the inside? Mr. Single-and-Ready-to-Mingle was a baby whisperer.

After that night, we became friends.

He’d go for coffee runs. Come over to chat. Normal friend stuff.

But over time, our conversations ran deeper. We got closer.

Until one night we crossed the line.

Our friendship turned into a complicated mess.

I’d gone and fallen for a guy who’d sworn off commitment and kids.

I knew Deacon was starting to care for me too, even though Sunny and I didn’t fit into any plan he’d ever imagined for himself.

He was wrong for me—so wrong that I’d dubbed him the “anti-boyfriend.”

Then why did I wish more than anything that I could be the one woman to change him?







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Excerpt

Copyright © 2020
By Penelope Ward

Today, just as I got back to my door, Deacon was exiting his apartment.
“Oh, hey, Carys-Like-Paris. How goes it?” He flashed a wide smile.
When people ask me my name, for some stupid reason, I sometimes answer, “Carys, like Paris,” particularly when I’m nervous. That was the case the first time I met Deacon.
A whiff of his amazing smell put my body on alert. He looked handsome as always. Today he wore a camel-colored suede coat with a shearling collar. His blue eyes, which stood out against his tanned skin, glimmered under the fluorescent lights overhead, which also brought out the copper tint to his otherwise medium-brown hair. He was at least six-foot-two—a beanstalk to my five-foot-four self.
This was my opportunity to bring up last night. But now that he was right here, towering over me, his musky smell saturating the air, I seemed to have lost the words. Still, I was determined to speak up now or never.
My heartbeat accelerated. Here goes. Still out of breath from my sprint up the stairs, I said, “Well, honestly, in answer to your question… I’d love to say I’m doing great, but I had a hard time getting to sleep last night. So, I’ve been better.”
He frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Actually, it’s sort of your fault.”
Deacon’s forehead crinkled. “My fault?”
“Yeah. I don’t know if you realize this, but your bed is right up against mine, on the opposite side of the wall. Your…interactions…last night woke me up, and I had a hard time getting back to sleep.”
Boom.
There.
Said it.
Deacon closed his eyes momentarily. “Shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were right behind me.”
“Yeah. It’s basically like I’m…right there.”
“Well, that was rude of me. I should’ve invited you to join.”
What? It felt like all my blood rushed to my head.
He held out his palms. “I’m kidding. Bad sense of humor comes out when I feel awkward, I guess.”
Slipping a piece of my hair behind my ear, I brushed off his comment. “I know you’re kidding.”
“Totally kidding.” He smiled. “But I’ll try to be more considerate now that I know you can hear everything. You should’ve said something.”
I tilted my head. “How exactly would that have worked? Barging in on two naked people? That’s why I’m saying something now.”
“Solid point. But I take it last night wasn’t the first time you overheard things?”
I looked down at my feet. “No, it wasn’t.”
“You could’ve banged on the wall or something.”
“I’m not one to rudely interrupt someone’s…personal happenings. I just wanted you to be aware of the situation. We don’t need to discuss it further.”
“Maybe we should come up with a code.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like, If I’m disturbing your peace, you play a song and crank it up to send me a message.” He snapped his fingers. “Something ironic like ‘The Sounds of Silence’ by Simon and Garfunkel.”
“Can’t exactly crank up a song when a baby is sleeping.”
His smile faded. “See? That goes to show you how clueless I am. Clueless and so sorry, Carys. Truly. I’ll try not to let it happen again.”
“It better not, fuckboy!” a voice shouted from behind one of the apartment doors.
Deacon and I turned around in unison. I noticed Mrs. Winsbanger’s door move across the hall. The old lady must have been listening in. She lived alone, and I often spotted her peeking out her door, spying on people.
Deacon grimaced. “Mrs. Winsbanger loves me.”
“Apparently I’m not the only one who overheard things last night,” I said.
His face turned red. His embarrassment was a bit surprising. I’d expected him to be more cocky.
“I’ll move my bed to the other side of the room. That should help.”
“Well, that would be nice, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“It’s not.”
Happy to have the conversation over with, I let out a long breath. “Okay, well, I’ll let you get going.”
He didn’t budge and seemed to be examining my face. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You seem frazzled.”
Well, yeah. I didn’t get good sleep, I’m trying to get things done in possibly the only hour of the day I have free, and we just had the most awkward conversation EVER.
“This is just me—my life. I have what could be barely more than an hour to eat my lunch and have some quiet time before my daughter wakes up from her nap.”
“Ah.” He scratched his chin. “How old is she now?”
“Six months.”
Deacon knew I was a single mom. He’d run into me one day and helped me bring groceries in while I tried to juggle Sunny and her stroller.
I was just about to head back inside my apartment when his voice stopped me.
“Do you need anything?”
I wasn’t entirely sure what he meant. “Like what?”
“Something from the store? A…coffee, maybe? I’m just headed out to run a quick errand, but I can stop somewhere on the way back.”
“It’s the least you can do, monkey balls!” Mrs. Winsbanger chimed in from across the hall.
She was apparently still listening.
“Did she just fucking call me monkey balls?” he whispered.
At that moment, I lost it. Laughter got a hold of me, and it took almost a minute before I could even speak. Deacon laughed, too, but I think he was more cracking up at my reaction.
“No idea why she just called you monkey balls. But I haven’t laughed this hard in weeks.”
After I finally calmed down, Deacon repeated his earlier question.
“Anyway, as I was saying, can I get you a coffee or something?”
His offer gave me pause. It was rare that anyone asked if I needed anything. I had a couple of good friends in the city, but they worked and had busy social lives. It wasn’t like they were around in the middle of the day to run to the store for me. And given that it was fall in New York, it was getting chilly out. I had to have a damn good reason to take Sunny out in the cold.
Honestly, I was dying for a latte from Starbucks. Running to the coffee shop was definitely something people without babies took for granted. It wasn’t worth having to bundle Sunny up.
“I would love a vanilla latte from Starbucks, if you pass one on your way back,” I finally said.
“Done.” He smiled. “That’s it?”
“Just one pump of vanilla would be great.”
“One pump. Got it. Anything else?”
“Isn’t that enough? It’s hardly a necessity. I shouldn’t be taking advantage.”
“Take advantage of me. What else do you need? Seriously. It’s the least I can do after disturbing your peace last night.”
Take advantage of me. Yup. Mind straight in the gutter. “You’re not my gopher.”
“Carys….” His baritone voice turned serious, and he repeated in a slow and exaggerated manner, “What. Do. You. Need? I could run to the store.”
There was something else I desperately needed.
“Diapers?” I said hesitantly.
“Okay.” He laughed. “You’re gonna have to help me out with those. I’ve never purchased them in my life.”
Before I could tell him what size, he handed me his phone. I was all too aware of the brief touch of his hand.
“Enter your digits. I’ll text you from the store to make sure I get the right kind.”
I did as he said before handing him back the phone, once again enjoying the contact from that brief exchange. Cheap thrills were as good as it got these days.
He put it in his pocket. “Anything else?”
“Not that I can think of.”
“Alright. Well, if you change your mind, you can let me know when I text.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“Talk to ya in a bit,” he said before heading down the hall.
I stood by my door and watched him walk away. The view from the back was just as good as the front. And moreover, it seemed Deacon was just as lovely on the inside as he was on the outside.
“One pump my ass,” I heard Mrs. Winsbanger say before she slammed her door.



Author Bio


Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.


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Other Books by Penelope Ward


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AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
B&N / KOBO / APPLE BOOKS
GOOGLE PLAY / AUDIOBOOK



AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
B&N / KOBO / APPLE BOOKS
GOOGLE PLAY / AUDIOBOOK


SEE MORE BOOKS HERE

Friday, August 21, 2020

**COVER REVEAL** Our Star-Crossed Kiss by Piper Rayne

 


Release Date: October 13

She’s got two strikes against her.

Her name is Erickson and her parents own The Bagel Place.

It wasn’t always that way. When we were nine, we were best friends. But then a feud between our dads ripped their successful business apart—and my best friend was ripped away too.

Our paths were bound to cross again. Now, both our families are vying for the same spot on a Food Channel’s reality show. Soon, the hatred between us becomes indifference and then our friendship grows like our time apart was only hours instead of years.

So when Evan asks me to pretend to be her boyfriend, I naively assume it’s to repair the rift between our families. But I wasn’t only wrong, I was dead wrong. That glimpse of a future I saw with her is ripped away again just like when we were young.

The difference is, now I’m all grown up, and I fight for what I want.

Pre-Order Your Copy Here:
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU  
Amazon DE | Apple | Nook | Kobo | Google Play

Add to your Goodreads TBR List Here!


Meet Piper Rayne: 
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. 


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Thursday, August 13, 2020

**RELEASE BLITZ WITH REVIEW** Needing You Close by Kennedy Fox

 


Needing You Close
Tyler & Gemma #2
Release Date: August 13


I never expected to see my first love again after he left me twelve years ago. Though I’ve moved on, working with Tyler is no easy task—especially when he focuses his bedroom eyes on me. Flirting with the past is like playing with fire, and considering I’m engaged, I’m bound to get burned.

When the man I promised to marry reveals he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing, I run to the safety of Tyler’s strong arms. As we grow closer, so do our feelings. Threats and ultimatums are made, and the revelation of the truth is enough to bring me to my knees. I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my family, even if it means shredding my heart.

Too dangerous, too unpredictable, too risky to handle alone—we need each other now more than ever.

After our world nearly collapses, there’s nothing left to do but take it back. Tyler and I team up to destroy the people who are determined to ruin our second chance at a happily ever after. Though our love is undeniable, I just hope it’s enough. We’ll fight until the end to be together—regardless of who tries to get in our way.

NEEDING YOU CLOSE is a slow-burn, angsty romance wrapped up in an intense love story. It's book 2 in the Tyler & Gemma duet and must be read in order.

Grab Your Copy Here!

Keeping You Away 
Available Now
Grab it here!

Tonya's Review
5 Stars

Gemma grows a back bone!

This review is hard to write because I don't want to give anything that happens away.  There are quite a few twists and turns that are awesome!
You do have to read Keeping You Away first as this is the second book in the duet.
When everything was going down, I was thinking "why don't they do this.." Not expecting them to actually do it.
And then that big twist happened.  I was so happy.  Sorry that this is vague, but it would be a huge, major, spoiler.
This is a great read!


Meet Kennedy Fox

Brooke Cumberland & Lyra Parish are a duo of romance authors who teamed up to write under the USA Today Bestselling pseudonym, Kennedy Fox. They share a love of Hallmark movies & overpriced coffee. When they aren't bonding over romantic comedies, they like to brainstorm new book ideas. 

One day, they decided to collaborate and have some fun creating new characters that'll make you blush and your heart melt. 


If you enjoy romance stories with sexy, tattooed alpha males and smart, independent women, then a Kennedy Fox book is for you! 


Keep up with all their social media platforms for updates & info!



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Wednesday, August 12, 2020

**NEW RELEASE WITH REVIEW** Any Day Now by Lani Lynn Vale

Release Date: August 11

Amelia loves her good friend, Avery.
So much so that she agrees to do the stupidest thing ever.
A stranger photo shoot.
You know the type.
The photographer takes photos of two individuals.
Two individuals that, until that day, have never met in their life.
The moment she shows up at the photo shoot, she knows that she made a terrible decision.
Why? 
Because the total stranger about to be in an intimate photo shoot with her is the hottest thing that’s ever walked the streets of Kilgore, Texas.
If not the entire US of A.
***
Adam wasn’t sure why the hell he agreed to something so stupid.
Call it temporary lapse of sanity.
When the photographer who shot his photo for the Kilgore Police Department’s benefit calendar asked him for a favor, he couldn’t say no. Not without looking like a jerk seeing as it was benefiting the Fallen Officer Foundation that he played a rather large part in.
Whatever it was that made him agree, he quickly realizes that it’s not worth it. Not when he walks into the studio and sees the massive bed with blood-red sheets dominating the middle of the room. 
So uncomfortable he is at the sight, he’s about to head straight out the door and not look back when she walks in.

Amelia steals his breath away with just one glance, and all of a sudden, getting this stranger into his arms with his mouth on hers sounds like the best idea ever.

Grab Your Copy Here:


Tonya's Review
5 Stars

This is the eighth book in the KPD SWAT 2.0 series.  I have loved every single one of them and have already re-read the first six books!  This is a stand alone.
Now, if you're like me and have read everything by Lani, Adam is Jack and Winter's son.  And Silas is Amelia's dad.  Don't forget her brothers are Sam and Sebastian either.
I've been waiting on a story about a stranger photo shoot.  And this story really hits the spot.  You see the chemistry straight off with these two.  
Amelia is a pint size bad ass, but with Silas as her dad, would you expect anything else?  You'll see what I mean.  She can kick some ass.  And I absolutely love how she takes jobs that will make Silas and her brothers so mad.
This story is a great read.

"Did the inventor of sweatpants ever consider what he was doing to the female population?  Or do you think he knew exactly what he was doing, and just smiled?  Because I think he just smiled."

Meet Lani Lynn Vale


Lani Lynn Vale is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author of over thirty titles. She is married with three children, two dogs, to cats, a donkey, and a couple (a couple meaning over twenty) chickens. 

She hails from the Great State of Texas. 

When she's not writing, you can find her curled up in her favorite chair reading.


Connect with Lani Lynn Vale




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Tuesday, August 11, 2020

**RELEASE BLITZ** Any Day Now by Lani Lynn Vale

Release Date: August 11

Amelia loves her good friend, Avery.
So much so that she agrees to do the stupidest thing ever.
A stranger photo shoot.
You know the type.
The photographer takes photos of two individuals.
Two individuals that, until that day, have never met in their life.
The moment she shows up at the photo shoot, she knows that she made a terrible decision.
Why? 
Because the total stranger about to be in an intimate photo shoot with her is the hottest thing that’s ever walked the streets of Kilgore, Texas.
If not the entire US of A.
***
Adam wasn’t sure why the hell he agreed to something so stupid.
Call it temporary lapse of sanity.
When the photographer who shot his photo for the Kilgore Police Department’s benefit calendar asked him for a favor, he couldn’t say no. Not without looking like a jerk seeing as it was benefiting the Fallen Officer Foundation that he played a rather large part in.
Whatever it was that made him agree, he quickly realizes that it’s not worth it. Not when he walks into the studio and sees the massive bed with blood-red sheets dominating the middle of the room. 
So uncomfortable he is at the sight, he’s about to head straight out the door and not look back when she walks in.

Amelia steals his breath away with just one glance, and all of a sudden, getting this stranger into his arms with his mouth on hers sounds like the best idea ever.

Grab Your Copy Here:


Meet Lani Lynn Vale


Lani Lynn Vale is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author of over thirty titles. She is married with three children, two dogs, to cats, a donkey, and a couple (a couple meaning over twenty) chickens. 

She hails from the Great State of Texas. 

When she's not writing, you can find her curled up in her favorite chair reading.


Connect with Lani Lynn Vale




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