Feels Like Christmas by Shannon Stacey is the second novella in her long-running Kowalski Family series that started with Carina Press back in 2012. The latest book in the series, A Kowalski Secret, just released through Harlequin Special Edition. If you have not read this series yet, I highly recommend doing so. It is a top-tier romance series and among my personal favorites to read.
My Favorite Holidate was a happy light at a time when I seriously needed a feel-good romance to sweep me away. It had the perfect amount of heart, humor, and holiday spirit while also showcasing everything I love about some of my favorite hooks and tropes.
7 Minutes in Kevin by D J Jamison is the third full-length MM romance book in the author’s Games We Play in Granville series. In the book, a an androgynous beauty who challenges his understanding of himself shares a mutual attraction with his best friend’s bi-curious dad, all under the watchful eyes of their quirky small-town friends and neighbors.
Truth or Darren by D J Jamison is the second full-length MM romance book in the author’s Games We Play in Granville series. In the book, a well-meaning, misjudged troublemaker discovers who he is and what he wants with his enemy/ex’s brother.
Today I am sharing my review for Never Have I Evan by D J Jamison. Never Have I Evan is an mm romance about a shy, inexperienced tech geek and a confident assistant football coach, with the bonus addition of a town full of quirky, nosy residents. The book has sexual awakening and discovery themes, too.
Are you looking for a short, low-angst, M/M romance read? Two Truths and a Lyle by D J Jamison just might be the book for you. I just finished it and I have to say, it was exactly what I was looking for to de-stress and get lost inside a new story.
In Brodie, bookish college student Reese Shepard gets a bit of a bombsell when she discovers her boyfriend has been cheating on her, leading her to leave town. Then she meets hockey player Brodie Pierce and the two quickly become friends, though Brodie wants to be much more than friends with Reese. Brodie by Aurora Rose Reynolds is book 13.5 in the author’s Until Him/Her series and it can be read and enjoyed as standalone read. For more of my thoughts on the book, check out the full post.
Fit Mountain Instaloves Vol 2 is a short instalove romance series, featuring an former marine and his physical therapist, a bodyguard and his boss’s daughter, and a wealthy businessman who falls in love with his childhood rival. Each book, though connected through Fit Mountain, can be read and enjoyed as a standalone romance read.
When marketing exec Brooklyn Hayes wakes up in Vegas after a corporate team-building trip, she’s expecting the hangover. The ring on her finger, not so much. And nothing could have prepared her for the sight of her best friend—her sister’s ex—right there beside her. She has no idea how this happened, but the one thing she knows for sure is that no one from their nosy, close-knit hometown of Rose Bend can find out!
He wants to punish me for daring to visit his town. I’m not the kind of girl to back down.
When I’m sent to a small mountain town for a job assignment, I slap a smile on my face and pray I can make it through the week. I’m a city girl born and bred, and the snowy mountains are the last place I’d choose to spend a vacation.
Blythe Pearl is no stranger when it comes to trouble as it seems to follow her wherever she goes. Running from her past leads Blythe to a new town, Ash Grove, where nothing is what it seems. Upon meeting The Halloween Boys, Blythe’s world is turned upside down, and her life begins to take a new and unexpected path.
As the ex-mayor’s daughter, Jenna Landon has spent her life aiming for perfection—and missing. The pressure and disappointment turned her into a bit of a mean girl, but now she’s tired of protecting her soft heart, of hiding her losses—she’s ready to leave Rose Bend and start over. But before she can leave, she has to endure the town’s carnival fundraiser, her father’s reelection campaign…and the pain-in-the-tail giant who just moved in next door.
Wrestling coach Isaac Hunter didn’t mean to disturb his neighbor with his music while fixing his car. But if anyone could use “messing with,” it’s prissy, perfect, sexy Jenna Landon. Soon their clashes turn into something hotter. Recently divorced, his focus should be rebuilding his life, not an… entanglement with a woman who spells nothing but trouble. Because Jenna is leaving Rose Bend. And they both know he can’t go with her, and he can’t ask her to stay…
ZAXTON
Aurelia Whitlock is an ex-stepsister I forgot long ago. Until she shows up as a design intern at my fashion company. And that’s the easy part. The part where she heats my blood, drawing me away from my grumpy, miserable side is another.
She has no business being here. The more I learn about how she got this job, the more perilous things become for me and my company.
I can’t trust her. I can’t fire her. And I can’t claim her full lips with mine.
Now it’s a keep your friends close and your enemies even closer situation.
Except keeping this stunning woman who surprises me at every turn close isn’t as easy as it sounds. She’s a delicious load of sunshine wrapped in smiles and enticing laughter. Her secrets and troubled past make me desperate to swoop in and fix them.
And did I mention the mouth on her? The one that challenges me and argues with me at every turn. The one I can’t stop staring at or fantasizing about.
I’m in trouble. So much trouble.
Unlike several of his brothers, Athan Maxwell accepted the curse inherent in his DNA and solved the problem a century ago by mating his one true mate and saving her life at the same time. Now they only meet up four times a year to exchange blood and keep themselves healthy because that was the deal. Yet after a hundred years, his mate has only become more beguiling and intriguing, and when he discovers a new threat on her tail, his promise of sitting back and leaving her alone goes right out of the window.
Ivy O’Dwyer has enjoyed the last century as an immortal being, evolving from being a farmer’s daughter to the successful CEO of an Internet company. Sure, life gets lonely without the chance to date, and yes, she’s grateful to her vampire mate for saving her life so long ago, and yet the dreams she has of the sexy male won’t desert her. So when he storms in to save her life, in all vampire-possessive mode, it’s difficult to stand her ground. Unfortunately, when they finally discover that living forever but alone isn’t worth it, it might be too late.
Catalina only made her deal with the demon because she had nowhere else to go. The world has kicked her every chance it got, so she’s all too happy to leave the realm she knows behind. What’s the worst that could happen?
She doesn’t anticipate being auctioned away to a kraken.
Thane is cold and distant…but he’s not unkind. Isolated as they are, Catalina finds herself seeking his company again and again. And when she finally agrees to uphold her portion of the bargain?
That’s when things get really interesting.
But she only gave the demon seven years, and when the time is up, she’ll have no choice but to leave behind the kraken who’s stolen her heart and return to the world that doesn’t want her.
Author’s Note: For all tropes, tags, and CWs, please check the author’s website.
Clementine Peterson thought she was coming home to start her life and open a business. She never expected to run into her older brother’s best friend and his new kid.
Ridge: When a social worker shows up at my doorstep with a three-year-old who looks just like me, I know that my whole life is about to change. I never thought I’d have kids, but looking at Hadley melts my heart. Being a first-time dad at twenty-five to a kid you’ve never met before is hard though. That’s why I need some help. Clementine might be my best friend’s little sister, but she’s the only one I can count on.
A first kiss leads to a second chance for this returning cowboy…
For thirteen years, Arizona King has tried to forget Micah Stone, the man who broke her heart. She was eighteen the night they confessed their feelings for each other. The next morning, he was gone. Maybe she was too young, too inexperienced—after all, he was twelve years older and fresh out of a serious relationship. Arizona vowed to never be so vulnerable again. But that promise proves hard to keep when Micah suddenly returns to Four Corners Ranch, looking for his son…
Soon it becomes clear those feelings never burned out for either of them. Still, after all this time, Arizona’s carrying more scars than she lets on… Should she give this headstrong cowboy a second chance—or will he turn tail once more and leave for good?
This fake dating, opposites attract romance is the perfect blend of chaos, charm, and community. Molly Cyrs is a neurodiverse heroine that is a bit out there for most people, but for Stonefield’s sexy new librarian, Callan Avery, she’s an intriguing mix of humor and intelligence. She’s also the first person he feels a connection with in town, which is a pretty good thing considering she just offered to be his fake girlfriend so the rest of the town might accept him faster!
This small town, brother’s best friend novella is the perfect swoon-worthy romance read. In it, Camille Dansen meets Erik Mann, her brother’s best friend and a local tattoo artist in need of a front desk receptionist. Camille has had a bit of a rough go of things of late, breaking up with her fiancé and moving back to Rose Bend. She’s looking for a fresh start and she finds it, just maybe not how she expected for things to go.
Get on board with @SoSavvyTraveler!
Lucy Gonzalez might have once been a stressed personal assistant, but now she’s hitched up her grandma’s bitchin’ vintage Airstream and hitting the road with all the best places to find cheap eats and see the sights on a shoestring budget.
And she has company along for the ride. If those thirst-worthy abs seem familiar, it’s because they belong to billionaire Miles Hart. True story, he used to be Lucy’s boss until she quit on him. Something about not being appreciated? Anyway, you will appreciate Miles—and his groveling—plenty on this trip.
Now, you have front-row seats to the hottest trip of the year. Sparks! Fireworks! Unexpected smooching! And you won’t want to miss the jaw-dropping surprise that will make this destination totally worth the hilarious journey…
One bookstore. One suspicious matchmaker. Tiss the season to be naughty.
Olive Adams is happy with her life. She has good friends, a job she loves, and she certainly doesn’t need a man to make things more complicated.
Until she gets thrown into a pool with Leo Miller.
But Leo isn’t looking for anything either. He’s a single dad way too focused on his career and his daughter. He’s comfortable in his life, too afraid to throw anything off balance. Something serious is off the table.
Or is it?
As Olive and Leo grow closer, their perceptions on relationships—and sex in public places—begin to change. But as life becomes more complicated, will it be enough?
Cowboy Wolf Garrett is delighted his brother is happily married—really, he is. But time can never heal Wolf’s own wounds, so being surrounded by such marital joy is a bit…much. A trip to his extended family’s ranch in Copper Ridge seems the ideal change of scenery. Until he meets local innkeeper Violet Donnelly and realizes he’s exchanged one form of torture for another—trying, and spectacularly failing, to resist their instant, wildly hot chemistry.
Violet knew Wolf was trouble the moment he walked into her inn. But it’s a whole new level of trouble when she discovers that their secret nights have left her pregnant! Especially when she has six feet of gorgeous, furious cowboy demanding that she come home with him for the holidays and marry him. Wolf has lost more than she could ever imagine, but Violet believes in the power of love to heal, and she’ll do anything to give their future family a chance. Wolf has already given her so many firsts—dare she hope he’s about to become her first Christmas miracle too?
My naive heart only ever beat for two guys…
Two totally unattainable guys. Forbidden guys— the kind mothers warn their daughters about.
Tristan was the one everyone wanted… but he was also my brother’s best friend. Smart, kind, and hot as hell, with a one-way ticket straight to the NFL.
And then there was Knox… the bad-boy who turned my world upside down. Only a year older, he made me feel like it was just a silly crush… until the first time he kissed me.
The hot, soon-to-be-inked-up gangster from the wrong part of town broke every rule, and shattered hearts… I just never expected one of them to be mine.
He kissed me once as a joke. He’s not joking anymore.
Things are finally looking up for me—a new job, a new city, and a new life without the annoying watchful eye of my older brother.
That is until Denny calls me up, insisting I meet with his best friend. Obviously, he wants Alec to keep an eye on me to ensure I don’t get into any trouble in the city.
I haven’t seen Alec in years, not since that last summer before I left for college. I doubt Denny would be so quick to push us together if he knew Alec was the first boy to kiss me—not that I’d expect Alec to remember.
When we finally meet up, there’s something in the way he looks at me that says he isn’t seeing me as his best friend’s little sister anymore, but he’s slow to make any moves. Is the tension between us all in my head? Or will a kiss change our lives forever?
Mate-bonding with a co-worker is against company policy, accidentally or not.
Janice knows better than anyone that entanglements with co-workers are risky business. But when Janice accidentally breaks a co-workers nose, she finds herself unexpectedly mated to an orc, and under Monster Resources’ scrutiny.
Khent from the IT Department is quiet and nerdy, despite the tusks. His emails are overly wordy. He won’t stop apologizing even though she’s the one who broke his glasses.
Clearly, fate got this one wrong.
All Janice has to do is stay away from Khent until the bond dissipates. Easy enough, right? Except…
…Her company laptop chooses this week to need the orc from the IT Department, repeatedly.
…She accidentally clicks on orc porn at work and has to take remedial phishing training with Khent.
…Their bond will keep pulling them back together until it is completed.
When Belle Langfords moves to Pyrite Falls, Oregon, to take a job as a live-in housekeeper and nanny, she’s ready for a new start. Shutting down her grandmother’s beloved bookstore had been devastating, but she’s hopeful that the three motherless young children she’ll be taking care of will ease that pain. The only challenge? When Belle arrives at her new employer’s house, the brooding cowboy has no idea who she is or what she’s doing there.
