“Too early seen unknown, and known too late.” ~Juliet Capulet
Of all the women in the world, or at least in Bridgewater, why did I have to fall for this one?
When she walked into my brother’s wedding reception, I fell quick and hard. Until I learned her name.
Nope. No way. Not for me.
I have no intention of dating my biggest competitor. The new owner of Mama Leoni’s Restaurant is clearly off-limits. But when a local newspaper links us as a couple, my brother suggests we play it up for “good press.”
I agree.
For the sake of my new restaurant.
Not because the mere sight of Evie Fuller sets my blood on fire.
Turns out the only thing more complicated than a fake relationship with my biggest rival is a real one. This situation has gotten out of hand much too quickly.
Bella Michaels is the pen name of a contemporary romance author who loves transporting readers to the small town of Bridgewater for sexy times and other shenanigans.
When not writing contemporary romance, historical romance as Cecelia Mecca and paranormal romance as C.L. Mecca, Bella loves dreaming up new sassy heroines and alpha heroes for readers to enjoy.
Firmly Team Gryffindor, Stark and Reylo, she lives with her husband and two pre-teens in Pennsylvania.
This is book three in this story and it takes place during Enzo and Chari's wedding and beyond. It stars Tristano who is Enzo's older brother and who runs a successful Italian restaurant in town.
At the wedding a brand new character, Evie meets Tris and he has no idea who she is but they share a dance and flirty looks. Once everyone shares that she owns a rival Italian restaurant in town Tris ghosts her until they run into each other at events around town.
In this story we meet two of Tris's siblings and well I hope the author writes their stories. They both help Tris with his restaurant and his brother suggests he fake date Evie for free publicity. And thats how the two start to get to know each other as they spend time with each other.
This story was really interesting and a bit different than I expected. Tris has a huge family and is very supportive. He grew up cooking with his dad and with the support of his parents and siblings he went out and created his own restaurant and its a huge success.
Evie on the other hand is very much alone. Her mother died many years before and her father has died as well. The restaurant holds memories of her parents and she works hard at it but has no supporting family at all. Its a tribute everyday to her parents and she wants it to succeed because of what it meant to her mother who opened the restaurant and ran it when Evie was a child.
It was a really interesting story with an awesome set of characters and I loved how they each love their restaurant but it means two very different things to them. I cannot wait to see what is next from this author.
Son of a conservative senator, Drew Scott doesn’t trust anyone and he’s certainly never known love, not even a shred. As long as the press perceives him as clean cut and on the up and up, his parents leave him to his own devices. His hollow existence is enough, until his eyes land on the swirling hips of a woman unlike any he’s ever known.
Liberal, lovable, Lua Stienbeck grew up on a commune, and probably has an FBI file. She’s smart, curvy, caring and on a mission to make the world a more just place. Despite all her lofty goals, Lua’s led a fairly sheltered life, protected by the community where she grew up. One act of kindness - helping a sexy stranger who is passed out and being tortured by hooligans - thrusts her into the limelight.
Lua and Drew should be on opposite sides but they just can’t seem to stop drifting across the aisle.
Check out this Contemporary New Adult Enemies to Lovers - With a dark brooding hero and tons of laughs.
Gelato was a bad idea. There was nothing innocent about ice cream. I have no idea how I ever thought that ice cream was friendly. Watching a woman you desperately want to devour circle her tongue through sweet sticky cream is fucking torturous. I almost couldn't talk the entire time we were eating. She circled. She licked. She stuck her tongue out and salivated, leaning toward my cone. She sighed and groaned. At one point she got gelato on her index finger and rather than wipe it on a napkin, she sucked it into her mouth and made one of those little delectable sounds. I was dying. My balls were crying, sobbing like little fucking helpless babies.
I was so caught up in watching her that I kept pausing mid-bite and letting melted gelato dribble on my chin. We were sitting on a bench just outside the gelato shop, and we were close. Lua’s thigh rested against mine. It was closer than I would have liked, considering my waning sense of control.
Lua made fun of me. “You are the worst ice cream eater I have ever met.”
I nodded and then dropped my head, feigning embarrassment. She giggled. I loved how much she laughed, how easy it was for me to make her laugh.
“You have chocolate…” She pointed to my chin. “… right there.”
I wiped my napkin where I thought she pointed.
“Nope. Closer to your mouth.”
I tried again.
Before I could stop her, she was holding my face in her hand and swiping her thumb softly across my bottom lip. It took everything I had to stay still. In my mind, I wandered to the places I would go from this moment if Lua was mine for the taking. I thought about drawing her thumb into my mouth, sucking on it and hearing her breath catch. I thought about moving so that my hand supported her neck, gently tucking her thick hair behind her ear and whispering all the things I wanted to do to her, telling her how I wanted to slide my hand between her thighs, feel her warm and wet, shuddering and bucking against my fingers, right there on that bench.
When she moved her hand away, I stood up—quick. I had to. I couldn't be touching her any longer. She followed my lead.
“Are we done?” she asked oddly, like I was the leader of our journey, and it only then occurred to me that everything we had done had been decided by me. I didn’t want that. I wanted the night to be about us.
“I don’t know, are we?”
“Um…” She was standing right in front of me, so she had to tilt up her chin to look me in the eye. “I’m gonna say no.”
“No, huh? Well then, fearless leader, where to?”
She bit the left side of her lip and her eyes drifted up and to the left. I’d once read somewhere that we look up at the different sides of our brain when we are creating or processing stuff, and that FBI guys and other law enforcement specialists were trained to tell if someone was lying by watching how they look up while they’re talking, but in this case, I knew Lua was just searching the recesses of her mind for a plan.
“Have you ever gone to the Empire State Building?”
“Really?” I was not expecting that.
“Well, have you? I mean, I know you’ve ridden the subway, but not everyone does all that New York touristy stuff.”
I would never admit that my first time on the subway was with her. Never. But I would give her this one. “No, I’ve never gone, but is it even open now? It’s almost eleven o’clock.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Of course, it’s open now. Do you honestly think that they’d miss the opportunity to make money off the New York City skyline at night?”
“Who’s they?”
She turned, looped her elbow around mine like I’d done earlier in the evening at the hotel, and said, “Don’t give me a hard time, Drew. Just come with me to see the pretty lights, okay?”
I conceded. Not a problem.
PRAISE FOR FALLING FOR
THE OPPOSITION
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Truly amazing from start to finish. I LOVED the message and the push-pull, and there were so many good points and insights. This was an intelligent romance with one epic love story. 10 stars!” - Mama Bee, Goodreads
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Everything about this book is a solid gold star. If you have never read a Lola West book, this is a beautiful place to begin. This is no fairytale. There are no damsels to be found here. There won’t be macho men riding in on white horses. This is not your mother- or grandmother's- story. This is so much bigger than that. Sit down, buckle up, and prepare to fall head over heels for the opposition.” - KKEC READS, Goodreads
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Holy moly cannoli!” Definitely couldn’t have said it better myself! This book was everything Lola said it was going to be and more. It was a beyond empowering love story that brings two people together against all odds. Lola’s writing in this book is so empowering and eye opening. 100% recommend! Love, love, LOVE!” - Denise Reynolds, Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lola West writes short, sweet, smart, silly, sexy romance. With a PhD in women's studies and a flair for the dramatic, Lola likes to keep it real. Her loves are cotton candy, astronomy, kitten heels and small-town hunks. Lola’s heroes make you swoon and her heroines that talk back. Also, she believes that consent is always sexy, even in books.
This is very much a coming of age story told by alternate POV and has a bit of insta lust/love. Its also told in three parts and lasts about a year. The first part of the story features a music 4 day event where the two main characters meet and start to get to know each other. The second part starts in the fall and they end up at the same college. The last part is when things come to ahead and Drew and Lua have to decide who they are going forward and if they belong to each other.
This is not a short book. It has over 52 chapters which are told in 3 parts with the two main characters POV. Drew is a senators son and his father is just awful and wants to control Drew. Drew is one big mess when we meet him but he also falls hard for Lua even before they say one word to each other.
As he gets to know Lua he finds out how awesome she is and he wants to be this bigger person and Lua introduces him to her world and I love stories where characters get redeemed and start to grow and change.
The last part of the story is where Drew has changed but his father hasn't and he still has the same friends and he has to really grow up and decide who and what he wants in his future. There is a case of rape in this story , though its a minor character and its after the fact, but sensitive readers might want to beware if this is a sensitive subject for them personally.
When it came to the men in her life, Charlotte Belmont was cursed. She’d known losers, cheaters, abusers, and criminals, so it went without saying, she stopped trusting her judgment a long time ago. Then Dalton came into her life; a good, dependable man who made her heart race and her body hot. When she felt herself falling for him, she did the only thing she could think to protect them both . . . she ran like hell.
Dalton Prescott was a protector by nature, so when the woman he’d been tasked to keep safe was almost killed on his watch, he carried that guilt like a weight on his shoulders. What made matters worse was that before everything went south, Dalton had started to care for Charlotte in a way that had nothing to do with his job.
She’s determined to ignore their attraction and keep him at a distance, but he’s playing for keeps and has no intention of losing. However, when ghosts from the past start popping up, bringing with them a whole new threat, Dalton may be the only man who can keep her safe this time.
**Hope Valley is a series of interconnected, standalone, small town romances.**
His eyes were still dancing with humor when he finally got a hold of himself and looked back down at me. “What’s so funny?”
“The fact you thought you had to convince me you weren’t perfect,” he said, a chuckle still shaking his chest. “Believe me, Thumbelina, I’m well aware of the fact you aren’t perfect.”
My eyes narrowed into slits when he started cracking up again. “All right,” I said snootily. “You don’t have to laugh so damn hard about it.”
“You did everything you could to make my life miserable when I was put in charge of keepin’ you safe. You were loud, you picked fights constantly, you’re hardheaded, you had shit taste in music, you’re messy, and you were constantly eatin’ my yogurt, even though I put my name on it before stashing it in the fridge. Christ, baby. You pretended to have menstrual cramps just so you could sneak out on me when I was tryin’ to protect you. Straight up, you were a pain in my ass, so trust me when I say you don’t have to warn me.”
I squirmed in his arms until he was forced to let me go, and took a step back, planting my hands on my hips while shooting fire from my eyes. “First off, I do not have shit taste in music.”
“Babe, every one of your playlists is like bein’ trapped at the g***** Lilith Fair with no escape.”
“Second,” I continued, ignoring his dig, “I’m not messy. I know exactly where everything is.”
His brows climbed high on his forehead as he looked around my apartment to the piles of clothes and shoes strewn about.
“I got really tired after finishing my laundry,” I defended snappily.
“But I’ll have you know, they’re all clean, and like I said, I know exactly what is in each and every pile.”
He grinned arrogantly, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do more, kiss it or smack it off his sexy, stupid face. “Whatever you say, sweetheart.”
“And last, that yogurt was in my fridge. That means, labeled or not, it was fair game.”
Visit Hope Valley a series of interconnected, standalone romances
Born and raised around Houston Texas, Jessica spent most of her life complaining about the heat, humidity, and all around pain in the ass weather. It was only as an adult that she quickly realized the cost of living in Houston made up for not being able to breathe when she stepped outside. That’s why God created central air, after all.
Jessica is the mother of a perfect little boy–she refuses to accept that he inherited her attitude and sarcastic nature no matter what her husband says.
In addition to being a wife and mom, she’s also a wino, a coffee addict, and an avid lover of all types of books–romances still being her all time favs. Her husband likes to claim that reading is her obsession but she just says it’s a passion…there’s a difference. Not that she’d expect a boy to understand.
Jessica has been writing since she was a little girl, but thankfully grew out of drawing her own pictures for her stories before ever publishing her first book. Because an artist she is not.
This is book 10 in the Hope Valley series and I have loved every single book. In this story we get to know characters that were previously introduced in the series before. This is Dalton's story and he worked with Charlie previously when they were trying to protect her while she was a police informant.
In this book Dalton has a huge thing for Charlie and tries to protect her even if at times she makes it very hard on him. He chases her and she runs and well thats my favorite part of this story. We also get to meet the women she works with at the Whiskey Burlesque Club in town and I believe its a new series by the author that will coming soon.
Charlie has been on her own for a long time and she has had horrible taste in men so when Dalton expresses interest and wants to get to know her, she runs and runs and runs. She also has a big secret and near the end of the story her secret is exposed and well I cannot wait to see what happens next in the story.
The story ends in a happy for now way but also gets you excited about the next book in the series to see what happens in relation to Charlie's secret.
This story can easily be a stand alone as we really don't know Charlie or Dalton very well before this story starts. Some parts of this story was featured in the previous book but its easily explained in this book so you don't need to read the previous story. Its largely centered on Charlie but we also get some of Dalton's POV throughout the book.
Eden’s
entire life changed in an instant. After enduring a messy breakup and the death
of her grandfather, she’s the new owner of his business, a struggling hockey
franchise.
Bad
things happen in threes, right?
Not one to
back down from a challenge, she jumps in with both stilettos. There’s just one
tempting and sinfully handsome problem . . . her new head of security, Holt
Rossi.
Eden and
Holt share a complicated history, one steamy night in college that she’s never
forgotten. The man is about as mild-mannered as a pack of wolves, and now he’s
back in her life, crowding her space, edging out all her good sense. And Holt
hasn’t changed a bit. The emotionally damaged, sexy-as-hell beast of a man has
her tied up in knots yet again.
But
temptation proves to be too much for either of them to handle. Holt, for one,
is willing to overlook the rules or even slam right through them, if it means
he can have Eden again.
Between her
ex—a bad-boy hockey player—and her distractingly handsome head of security,
Eden is in for a bumpy ride.
Warning: This romance contains one growly, broken hero; a bunch of
rowdy hockey players; and a smart, hardworking heroine whose life hasn’t been
all sunshine
A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than three dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold over 2.5 million books and her books have been translated into several languages in countries around the world. Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than 70 times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine. She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.
This story takes place in two different periods, the first is the college years and then 6 years later in the aftermath, after college. It is sort of a love triangle but very slightly I guess. The girl in question is Eden and she had a crush on Alex in college when she meets Holt. Holt and her have a one night of connection when the next day she pretends it didn't happen and she ends up dating Alex for several years before they break up.
The main story picks up 6 years later and her and Alex is history, but now Eden has a hockey team she needs to turn into a winning team and Alex is part of that team. She ends up hiring Holt as security for her as the team manager an so the connection is still there.
However its very much a forbidden romance as she feels the world would look down on her dating Holt. But these two have an extremely strong connection, more so now as adults. It was a fun story and I liked Holt and Eden a lot. I enjoyed watching them flirt and circle each other and their shenanigans.
I received a free ARC copy of this book from the author prior to release and am voluntarily leaving a review.
New York Times bestselling author, K. Bromberg, brings you a romance about love, forgiveness, and living every day to the fullest.
I know finding and signing a military vet to the agency is a long shot--but it'll be good press just letting him try out. That's what I tell my family, rather than admit I can't get the letter he wrote us five years ago out of my head.
But what I tell the bartender in his hometown is a lie. I know veterans protect each other. So I pretend to be a graduate student.
Sparks. Flame. Fire. I accidentally got in too deep.
I didn't expect to develop feelings for Gunner Camden.
And there's no way I can admit to my lies now, not without destroying what we share. So I'll keep faking it.
***
There are two versions of me: before, and after deployment.
Back then I was a screwup kid. I'd lie, cheat, and steal my way out of everything. My only love was baseball.
After I started fighting, I found out there had been another path for me. One that involved my dream. But by then I had seen too much.
The old me was dead, so I put my dreams to rest, too.
Then Chase Kinkade walks into my bar and reminds me that life is meant to live. No regrets.
Fresh. Happy. Hopeful. I can start to see a new dream, with her.
But sometimes things are too good to be true... and dishonesty is the one thing I can't forgive.
Download today on Amazon, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Barnes & Noble!
New York Times Bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary romance novels that contain a mixture of sweet, emotional, a whole lot of sexy, and a little bit of real. She likes to write strong heroines and damaged heroes who we love to hate but can't help to love.
A mom of three, she plots her novels in between school runs and soccer practices, more often than not with her laptop in tow and her mind scattered in too many different directions.
Since publishing her first book on a whim in 2013, Kristy has sold over one and a half million copies of her books across eighteen different countries and has landed on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists over thirty times. Her Driven trilogy (Driven, Fueled, and Crashed) is currently being adapted for film by the streaming platform, Passionflix, with the first movie (Driven) out now.
With her imagination always in overdrive, she is currently scheming, plotting, and swooning over her latest hero. You can find out more about him or chat with Kristy on any of her social media accounts. The easiest way to stay up to date on new releases and upcoming novels is to sign up for her newsletter (http://bit.ly/254MWtI) or follow her on Bookbub (http://smarturl.it/KBrombergBB)
Text Kbromberg to 77948 to stay up to date on all things Driven movies and new releases
This has been a really interesting series. I am a recent reader for this author so reading this series has been fascinating and I have highly enjoyed it. This book easily stands alone, prob more than the rest of the books as Chase is very much on vacation or out of the office during most of this story and is not really involved with the agency or the siblings thru most of the book.
The premise of the series is built around Chases' ex Finn and how he is stealing clients from the sisters and their fathers sports agency and they decide to go after his clients. In previous books in the series all Chases older sisters have found love, marriage and even pregnancy. But she is feeling very much alone now that their lives have changed so much. Even her ex, Finn is all over the news for doing a Make a Wish grant for a sick kid. So she decides her sports agency needs to one up him and she decides to help a military man, Ryan who once dreamed of a baseball career. But first she has to find him, but all she has is a letter he wrote to her father many years before that just got delivered.
She tracks him to his old high school and gets a clue to a city he might be in but then she has to find him. On her first night in town she hits a bar and meets an amazing man and well things get interesting from there. Yep no spoilers here!
This was a really fun story and I really loved meeting the gang from the bar that Chase ends up landing in. I loved that in this story the emphasis is on the US Military rather than sports and what they face out there protecting us American's. Its a really different story than any of the others in this series and I really enjoyed the direction it went in.
This story had love, laughter, friendship and I even cried a few sad and happy tears as Chase and her fellow figured out how to make things work. This was an awesome book in the series and a really great military romance.
I received a free ARC copy of this book from the author prior to release and am voluntarily leaving a review.
