We had a little release lull for Mother’s Day, but Tuesday is one of the busiest release days of the month. From indie to traditionally published authors, there’s a little something for everyone on the way – and several books that I’m excited to dig into. Take a peek at some of the books releasing in the next week below!
May 16: One and Only by Karla Sorensen
You are cordially invited to my fake wedding.
Marrying Beckett Coleman is the best idea I’ve had in years. I can grant my sick dad’s wish to walk one of his daughters down the aisle, and Beckett has my help solving a custody situation with his daughter. Our plan is to spend a year together, then part ways. Easy, especially since I’m not his type, and he’s not mine either.
He’s too quiet and too serious. And while he’s distractingly gorgeous, he’s also my brother’s teammate. Beckett is fake husband material, not the real deal. I just have to remember that.
Until I move in with him. Get to know him. Share a bed with him. Turns out, the line between fake and real isn’t just blurry, it’s almost impossible to uphold when he looks at me the way he does.
This marriage is a whole lot more complicated than we bargained for. We’re threatening to destroy everything we’ve built, something neither of us can risk.
Marrying Beckett might’ve been the best idea in years. But falling in love with him would be the worst.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3N0PJCZ
May 16: The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
Sparks fly when a romance novelist and a documentary filmmaker join forces to craft the perfect Hollywood love story and take both of their careers to the next level—but only if they can keep the chemistry between them from taking the whole thing off script—from the New York Times bestselling authors of The Soulmate Equation and The Unhoneymooners.
Felicity “Fizzy” Chen is lost. Sure, she’s got an incredible career as a beloved romance novelist with a slew of bestsellers under her belt, but when she’s asked to give a commencement address, it hits her: she hasn’t been practicing what she’s preached.
Fizzy hasn’t ever really been in love. Lust? Definitely. But that swoon-worthy, can’t-stop-thinking-about-him, all-encompassing feeling? Nope. Nothing. What happens when the optimism she’s spent her career encouraging in readers starts to feel like a lie?
Connor Prince, documentary filmmaker and single father, loves his work in large part because it allows him to live near his daughter. But when his profit-minded boss orders him to create a reality TV show, putting his job on the line, Connor is out of his element. Desperate to find his romantic lead, a chance run-in with an exasperated Fizzy offers Connor the perfect solution. What if he could show the queen of romance herself falling head-over-heels for all the world to see? Fizzy gives him a hard pass—unless he agrees to her list of demands. When he says yes, and production on The True Love Experiment begins, Connor wonders if that perfect match will ever be in the cue cards for him, too.
The True Love Experiment is the book fans have been waiting for ever since Fizzy’s debut in the New York Times bestselling The Soulmate Equation. But when the lights come on and all eyes are on her, it turns out the happily ever after Fizzy had all but given up on might lie just behind the camera.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3H3h17G
May 16: Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts by Kristyn J. Miller
Love breaks all the rules.
Margo Anderson is sworn off commitment. Alongside her best friend Jo, she runs a viral podcast featuring rules for hooking up without catching feelings. So when Jo surprises her by deciding to get married and takes up a sponsor’s offer to host an all-expenses-paid wedding trip on Catalina Island, they have the whole internet to answer to.
In a scramble for content to appease their disappointed listeners, Margo cooks up a social experiment: break all her own dating rules, just to prove that it’s a bad idea. And she’s found the best man for the job in the groom’s best friend and her old high school nemesis, Declan Walsh. He may be easier on the eyes than Margo remembered, but he’s sure to be as smug and annoying as he was before. There is no chance Margo will ever catch feelings for him…until she does.
The more time they spend together through cake tastings and wedding party activities, Margo can’t ignore their obvious spark, and she may actually be enjoying getting to know Declan. But can she let go of the rules to let him in?
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3L63eie
May 16: Fault Line by Ki Stephens
KAIA Karras has always excelled in the classroom. She’s a born and bred overachiever, chronic over thinker, and full time seeker of academic validation. But being top of the class doesn’t happen without making sacrifices. So when it comes to relationships, she’s only looking for something casual and transactional. A way to shut off her brain for a little while, and finally get some much needed sleep.
That is, until she spends just one night with Holden Becker, a talented hockey player with a sharp wit and a secret soft spot for her.
HOLDEN Becker plays by his own rules, both on and off the ice. He’s used to getting what he wants, whether it’s the attention of his coach or the admiration of his teammates. But when he and Kaia both secure top marks for their research proposals, they’re forced to share an academic advisor.
Their rivalry quickly turns to passion, and they find themselves in a precarious situation: hooking up behind closed doors, all while trying to keep their relationship strictly casual.
Three years of rivalry. Just one night to cut the tension. When the ground beneath them begins to shake, will they hold on or let go?
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3L2BKd4
May 16: Whisky Business by Elliot Fletcher
Opposites attract when a fish-out-of-water actress and a grumpy Scottish whisky distiller are forced to work together to save the business they both love.
As a child, April Sinclair dreamt of escaping her quiet island life to become a world-famous actress. Now fully grown and with her once-flourishing career at an all-time low, what better way to figure out where it all went wrong than to go back to the beginning? April has her sights set on a new challenge, and that is saving her family’s distillery on the idyllic Scottish Isle of Skye. What she doesn’t expect to find is Malcolm Macabe, short-tempered and exceedingly attractive, living in the home she has just inherited. He may be a million miles away from the shy teenager she knew growing up, but one thing is for certain: he doesn’t want her around anymore.
Master distiller Mal has three loves in his life: Whisky, his dog, and silence. He has no time for the pampered princess poking her nose around his distillery, even if said princess is the one who got away. More comfortable in the shadows than the spotlight, Mal is content to wait her out. She’ll grow bored and run back to her glamorous world of nail salons and takeaway coffee eventually. When sparks begin to fly, he tells himself it doesn’t matter… because April Sinclair could never want a man like him, right?
Amazon: https://amzn.to/41Bwzbm
May 16: It Has to Be You by Dani McLean
She believes in Fate. He’s calling her bluff.
As a teen, Indy learned that Destiny would lead her to the man of her dreams. His name was Nick.
Fifteen years later, Fate grants her a second chance at her One True Love. And even though leaving her house for anything less than a latte is terrifying, Indy has to take it.
See, Indy O’Neall isn’t anything like the adventurous heroine she writes. For her, a good night is sharing a pint of mint chip ice-cream with her roomate Sasha while cheering on the best damn basketball team in the league.
But this is Destiny calling. Indy can’t ignore it.
Unfortunately, one man is standing in her way.
Ethan Fraser.
He’s six feet of confidence in the body of a superhero, and a bone to pick with her future husband. Indy is happy to steer clear of the gorgeous, motorcycle-riding, rock-climbing, elementary teacher.
The problem is, no matter what Indy does, all roads seem to lead back to Ethan.
Ethan is charming. Ethan is flirtatious. But Ethan isn’t her soulmate.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3owdloK
May 16: Funny Guy by Emma Barry
From the author of Chick Magnet comes a heartfelt friends-to-lovers story about what can happen when a funny guy and his childhood best friend are stuck together in a small New York City apartment.
Sam can’t escape the smash hit “Lost Boy” because, well, he is the lost boy. His pop-singer ex immortalized him in a song about his childish ways, and now his comedy career is on the line.
At least he still has Bree, his best friend and confidante. Bree has always been there for Sam, but she’s never revealed her biggest secret: she’s in love with him. To help herself move on, Bree applies for her dream job across the country—and doesn’t say a thing to Sam.
But as Sam tries to resuscitate his career, he turns to Bree for support—and maybe more. In the confines of her tiny apartment, they share a different dynamic. A charged dynamic. But she’s his friend. He can’t be falling for her.
Except he is.
Are his feelings for Bree just funny business? Or is their smoldering attraction the real deal?
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3or1iZI
May 18: Neutral Zone by Teagan Hunter
To my fans, I’m known as Ivan Fitzgerald.
To my teammates, I’m just Fitz.
And to the girl I’ve been talking to online, I’m ShootsAndScores.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the woman on the other side of the screen is completely out of my league. Why wouldn’t she be? Sure, I’m a professional hockey player, but that doesn’t mean anything when I’m shy and awkward in the most basic social situations and she’s a fiery vixen who oozes sex appeal.
No matter how badly I want her, I can’t have her. Because the woman I love watching so much? The one I might be slowly falling for?
She’s not just some stranger on the internet. It’s Rosie, the woman who serves me coffee and donuts every morning.
And she has no clue it’s me.
NEUTRAL ZONE is a standalone sports romance novel. It features a hot, toothless hockey player, a curvy woman who is confident in her body, lots of fun banter, and STEAM!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/43NVGZX
May 18: The Troublemaker by Jessica Peterson
Brooks Huntley is the last guy on earth I should ask to take my virginity.
He’s a decade older than me. Lethally hot. And so far out of my league it’s not even funny. The biggest downside to my plan, though?
Brooks is my older brother’s best friend.
I see Brooks every day when I deliver muffins to his office. With his swaggering confidence and sexy smirk, it’s no wonder I’ve always had a crush on him. But I’m not looking to cause any trouble—at first. I just want to give my V-card a long-overdue swipe.
Too bad I have no game when it comes to picking up guys—but Brooks is a master at charming the pants off women. While Brooks himself is off-limits, who better to study for tips on how to get laid?
When he offers me a weekend away at a five-star resort as thanks for satisfying his sweet tooth, I say yes—with the caveat that he comes too. That way I can watch him in action. He counters with a caveat of his own: he’ll come, but my brother can never find out.
On our secret getaway, I do my best to learn from Brooks and take someone new home. But I fail so miserably that Brooks steps in and kisses me “to show me how it should be done.”
And can I tell y’all, I just melted.
Now can I convince him to show me how everything should be done?
Amazon: https://amzn.to/41wbgYD
May 18: Under the Stars by Laura Pavlov
My new assistant is all smiles and sunshine—and she’s about to set fire to my cold, grumpy heart.
I’ve moved to this god-forsaken small town to run the family business.
I need to hire a new PA and the pickings are slim.
Some say my irrational expectations are the reason I’ve gone through assistants quicker than most people refill their coffee.
Incompetence is my pet peeve.
If that makes me irrational, so be it.
Then Georgia Reynolds walks into my office.
Blonde hair.
Sapphire eyes.
And a smart mouth that irritates me as much as it turns me on.
On top of being a rockstar at her job, she is a ray of freaking sunshine on steroids.
I have no patience for it.
Nor for the way she flutters around the office like a modern-day Tinkerbell.
She has ridiculous taste in music.
Drives an unreasonable form of transportation.
And did I mention that I caught her dancing in my closet when I sent her on a simple errand?
My new assistant has somehow become my kryptonite.
But I am her boss, and I am not going to be a pathetic cliché.
It doesn’t matter that my cold, jaded heart has started beating again.
In my world, a beating heart makes you weak.
And I do not tolerate weaknesses.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3UVO2si
May 18: Look Smart by Aly Stiles
Nate Hanover’s future was set. The perfect girlfriend, the perfect career… He’s the perfect man with the perfect life—until he lost it all this summer. Now he’s not sure about anything, except that no one can know the truth lurking behind his “perfect” facade. Especially not at this week’s high-stakes corporate circus known as Tele-Con.
Natalie McAllister has no time for games. After working nonstop since… ever, she’s one win away from the dream promotion she’s been chasing for years. All she has to do is land the Sandeke Telecom account at this week’s telecom conference and life will be perfect.
But when a chance encounter leads these strangers to an incredible night of intimate soul-searching, “perfect” might look different than they thought. With so much on the line, it’s a good thing they’ll never see each other again. Well, not until the following morning when they learn they’re competing for the same account, their firms despise each other, and a nut-obsessed enigma named Chad Smith is the key to their success. Oh, plus their forbidden connection is still fully charged and more off-limits than ever.
What could go wrong when the perfect night explodes into the perfect storm?
‘Look Smart’ is a full-length contemporary romance and can be read as a standalone. Book #6 in the Work For It series, Educated Romance World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KUSm6F
Check out this week’s new releases here.
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