The Heartache of Life (Working Girls Series) by K.L. Humphreys

Title: The Heartache of Life

Series: Working Girls Series

Author: K.L. Humphreys

Genre: New Adult Romance

Release Date: September 24, 2020

Cover Design: Design Bunnies

You can have everything you’ve ever wanted and in the blink of an eye you can lose it all.

Gemma Green’s dreams were set in motion from a very young age, but that all changed when her dad died leaving her alone in the world.

Marrying a man forty years older than her was never her plan, but sometimes the only way to survive is to do whatever it takes.

Falling for Taylor Lewis was never on the plan. Staying away from him is an impossible feat.

But loving him comes at a cost, one that Gemma’s not sure she’ll survive.

Afterall, her life’s been one big heartache, she won’t be able to deal with anymore.

But Taylor’s not giving up without a fight.

Will Gemma and Taylor get their happy ever after? 

Or is her heartache enough to keep him at arm's length?

KL Humphreys lives in Ireland with the love of her life and her baby girl. In a way, the world has him to thank for her debut novel, Deadly Hunt. After years of thinking about writing the story that had been dying to get out of her head, she finally confided in her other half. He gave her all the encouragement she needed to get the story out, he has been with her every step of the way.

KL loves music, especially pop, R'n'B and rap and if she's writing you will find it playing somewhere nearby. She also loves all romance novels but of course, Romantic Suspense is her go-to genre. When she isn't writing it...it's a good bet she is curled up somewhere reading it.

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Elegant Sins (Breaking Belles, #1) by Stasia Black & Alta Hensely

Title: Elegant Sins
Series: Breaking Belles #1

Authors: Stasia Black & Alta Hensley

Genre: Dark Contemporary Romance

Release Date: August 31, 2020

Blurb

There is nothing more dangerous than a secret… 

It is how the powerful survive. 

They spin their influence in the shadows as their sins corrupt the innocent.

And I am one of them. 

The elite.

The chosen. 

It is my inherited fate to claim a place among one of the most secret societies of them all…

The Order of the Silver Ghost.

It is her fate to be my sacrifice on the altar of wealth and seduction of riches. 

Tonight, my belle of the ball will dance with the devil and by morning, I will have broken her. 

For my initiation is a ritual steeped in a dark and twisted tradition of elegant sins.

As I said, secrets are dangerous… 

But then again, so is love. 

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Stasia Black

STASIA BLACK grew up in Texas, recently spent a freezing five-year stint in Minnesota, and now is happily planted in sunny California, which she will never, ever leave.

She loves writing, reading, listening to podcasts, and has recently taken up biking after a twenty-year sabbatical (and has the bumps and bruises to prove it). She lives with her own personal cheerleader, aka, her handsome husband, and their teenage son. Wow. Typing that makes her feel old. And writing about herself in the third person makes her feel a little like a nutjob, but ahem! Where were we?

Stasia’s drawn to romantic stories that don’t take the easy way out. She wants to see beneath people’s veneer and poke into their dark places, their twisted motives, and their deepest desires. Basically, she wants to create characters that make readers alternately laugh, cry ugly tears, want to toss their kindles across the room, and then declare they have a new FBB (forever book boyfriend).

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Join Stasia’s Facebook Group for Readers for access to deleted scenes, to chat with me and other fans and also get access to exclusive giveaways: Stasia’s Facebook Reader Group

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Alta Hensley

USA TODAY Bestselling Author of Hot, Dark and Dirty Romance.

She is also an Amazon Top 100 bestselling author. Being a multi-published author in the romance genre, Alta is known for her dark, gritty alpha heroes, sometimes sweet love stories, hot eroticism, and engaging tales of the constant struggle between dominance and submission.

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Necessary Cruelty (Lords of Deception, #1) by Ashley Gee

Title: Necessary Cruelty

Series: Lords of Deception #1

Author: Ashley Gee

Genre: New Adult Romance

Release Date: August 31, 2020

Blurb

Will he save me or break me?

Vin Cortland is the crowned prince of Deception High. He is beloved by his subjects and ruthless with his enemies.

We used to be friends, once. Not anymore.

It’s no secret that he hates me, but only the two of us will ever know why. And the guilt of what I’ve done makes me hate myself more than he ever could.

Except love and hate are two sides of the same coin and both will make you burn.

Then he comes to me with a proposition: one fake marriage in exchange for enough money to finally escape this town and leave the past behind me. The offer is hard to refuse and Vin isn’t the type to take no for an answer.

I want to know why me, but I won’t ask for his secrets when it means revealing my own.

He is the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me.

My savior and my destruction.

It’s a deal with the devil.

I’ll let him take my body and my hand in marriage.

The only question is whether or not he also gets my soul.

Necessary Cruelty is a standalone, enemies-to-lovers romance with an HEA and no cliffhanger. Lords of Deception is a New Adult series of standalone romances featuring drama, angsty sensuality and Alpha males who will be brought to their knees. This book is intended for mature readers.

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Excerpt

When I snap awake in the middle of the night, I immediately know I’m not alone.

The thin curtains covering the window let in enough of a glow from the floodlights outside that I can just make out the figure sitting at the desk chair in the corner of my room.

For a moment, fear tightens my throat and steals my breath as I reorient myself to the present instead of dreams about the past. The fear only lasts until my vision adjusts to the darkness enough that I can tell who it is sitting there.

As if there is more than one person that it could be.

Vin watches me come awake with an expression that isn’t visible in the dark, but I know he has a scowl on his face. Wood creaks in the silence as he shifts his weight, but he doesn’t say anything.

And neither do I.

Grandpa is long asleep, not that he would be capable of mounting the stairs to come to my rescue. And I know Zion hasn’t returned from wherever he goes at night, because the noise he makes coming in the house would have woken me up.

Vin and I are never alone at school. He either has the other Vice Lords with him, or he avoids me like the plague. At least, it feels like he avoids me. But I can’t ignore the fact that he always seems to be around anytime the rules are broken. One time, Liam Connelly grabbed my elbow and tried to pull me into a broom closet, knowing I probably wouldn’t open my mouth to protest. Vin was there before Liam even had the chance to close the door behind us, breaking my would-be rapist’s jaw badly enough that he required corrective surgery.

But that has always been one of the rules: no one else gets to touch me.

I see a flash of white in the darkness, and I know it’s the note Jake had my brother pass me at lunch. Vin leaves it on the table as he stands, seeming to loom over me even though he is still across the room.

He circles the bed like a shark in the water, scenting blood. But it’s his scent that permeates the room, a heady mix of wood-smoke and bergamot with just the barest hint of oleander. Always, with the fucking oleanders. I have the feeling he rubs himself down with them just to mess with me. That scent will stay here, tainting the air, long after he leaves.

It’s been so long since the last time he showed up here like this that I almost had myself convinced we were done. But the two of us are like two meteors on a collision course in the darkness of space, destined to collide in a spectacular display of destruction.

In a moment of fancy, I wonder if it’s jealousy or possession that has brought him here tonight, after months of staying away. Realistically, I know the reality is both simpler and more complicated than that. He is here because he can’t stop himself from coming.

He wants me in a peculiar and twisted way, but he also might wrap his hands around my throat and squeeze the life from me, something he has threatened to do more than once in the past.

His presence here is inexplicable, because there isn’t any explanation required.

Vincent Cortland does whatever he wants whenever he feels like doing it. That is the way it has always been.

Everybody talks about destiny like it’s some wondrous thing that must be written in the stars. Really, destiny is just the inevitable result of your decisions rushing up from the future to blast you in the face. If you jump off a cliff, hitting the rocks below becomes your destiny. You’re accelerating towards destiny in a free fall, and at that point there isn’t any stopping what has to happen next.

Just because something is your destiny doesn’t mean it won’t destroy you.

I fold my legs in front of me and wrap my arms around my knees as my gaze tracks his movements in the dim light. He paces like a caged predator in a zoo, desperate for a way out. I don’t say anything as I continue to watch him. This always plays out the same way, and I figured out it’s better to be patient a long time ago.

Vin crawls into the bed without asking for permission, and I scoot over to make room for him. He lies on his side on top of the blankets behind me while one hand wraps around my waist to haul me back against him. His open hand rests heavily against my stomach, forcing me down with pressure that is just on the wrong side of too much.

Spooning is supposed to be a romantic thing, but he manages to turn it into a punishment. That has always been a talent of his, taking something good and twisting it into a thing that I both love and loathe.

We lie together in the dark until our breathing is in sync. I try to take slower and shallower breaths, because I hate that it is so easy for our bodies to become a perfect match. But there isn’t any use trying to fight it. Our chests rise and fall together, his breath tickling the back of my neck as he exhales.

An hour passes in silence, but neither of us have fallen asleep. Every place his body touches mine burns. My muscles are clenched and taut as he forces me back against him, but his proximity compels me to relax even as I wish it wasn’t the case.

Our hearts might be at war, but our bodies have a mind of their own.

I only wear a t-shirt to bed most nights, maybe throwing on a pair of sweatpants when it gets particularly cold. Pajamas are a luxury I simply do not understand. I can’t imagine spending money on clothes that I never wear outside the house.

The hand that has been still on my stomach this entire time shifts to my hip, stroking down the bare skin of my exposed thigh. His lips touch the back of my neck, so softly it makes me want to cry.

But I won’t call it a kiss, refuse to even think that word. Despite everything, despite my fear, the one thing we never do is kiss.

Vin Cortland doesn’t kiss anyone.

Author Bio

Ashley writes moody, atmospheric romance with characters who have to earn their happily ever after. Her stories are angsty and emotional, featuring unique heroines and alphas brought to their knees.

She lives in Indiana with her husband, two children, two cats, two dogs and partridge in a pear tree (okay not really!). She doesn’t enjoy long walks on the beach because the sand gets everywhere but can often be found binging Netflix and drinking wine from Kroger.

Necessary Cruelty is her debut novel.

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Hot Pickle by JJ Knight

Title: Hot Pickle

Author: JJ Knight

Genre: Standalone Romantic Comedy

Release Date: August 31, 2020

Blurb

He’s about to become a very big dill.

A best friend’s sister rom com from USA Today bestselling author JJ Knight 

I’m rock hard.

No, not like that.

When that happens, you won’t need me to tell you.

I’m a competitive bodybuilder, ready for my first regional contest. And winning requires more than just killer workouts, diet, or stage presence.

It’s all about the tan.

My training partner Franklin uses the best in the business — Camryn Schultz. She understands the career killer of a badly placed white spot.

 

She’s also his sister.

So when the craptastic tan I’m given for my first competition requires an emergency patch, Frank knows exactly who to call.

 

The thing is, when Camryn’s hands hit my skin, more than a few muscles spring to life.

 

I’m about to head on stage in the tiniest Speedo imaginable and parts of me no longer fit.

What I need to do for my friendship and my future on the circuit is to walk away.

But when Camryn’s got her hands on my hard body, there’s no way this Pickle is going to get anything but hot.

__

Hot Pickle is a 300-page standalone romantic comedy about workout junkies, bodybuilding gods, and the couple who sprays together, stays together.

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Excerpt

Camryn waits for me to shed my pants. I almost trip over them, anxious and unsure. She’s getting to me. I toss them on the floor with my bag and hold out my arms.

“Tell me the damage.”

Camryn makes a slow walk around me, tapping the end of a makeup brush against her cheek.

“You smeared the color here when you put on your trunks. You should always wear them for your final day tan to avoid this.” Her hand smooths something low on my ass, and everything in my body goes warm.

My eyes blink shut, and I try to concentrate on something other than her touch. I run through my bodybuilding poses, picturing myself on the stage.

Something bonks my nose, and I open my eyes to see Camryn standing there again. “I have your back acceptable. You shouldn’t lose any points.”

Before I can even get in a thank you, the end of her brush pokes my chest. “But we have to do something about these abs. You have a light patch just below your navel in the critical area from belly button to…”

She hesitates. "Below.”

I don’t know what she was going to call it, but apparently it’s a word she doesn’t want to use around me.

I can’t stifle my grin. “You saying my happy trail is too bright?”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m saying the lack of consistent color won’t do you any favors with the judges.”

“Do with me what you must.”

Okay, now hold up.

I have to pause the story here.

Because this, my friend, is where Camryn gets on her knees in front of my junk, a tube in her hand.

And things get really awkward.

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Author Bio

JJ Knight is the USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. She’s never met a pickle she didn’t want to eat.

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Painting the Lines by Ashley R. King

Today we have the blog tour for Ashley R. King’s PAINTING THE LINES! Check it out and be sure to grab your copy today!

Title: Painting the Lines

Author: Ashley R. King

Genre: Sports Romance

About Painting the Lines:

Amalie Warner wants another shot to prove that she can be a successful writer. After hitting the bestseller’s list nine years ago, she’s lost her spark. Feeling pressure from her father to leave her writing behind and to work for her family’s lucrative hotel business, she’s desperate to find inspiration for her next big idea, something that challenges and excites her, something real.   Enter Julian Smoke, a failed tennis player making a dream run for the US Open. After a chance meeting at a bar, Amalie hates him instantly. He’s cocky and arrogant, but Amalie knows his story could be her big break. Could he be more?   Everyone knows that in tennis, love means zero, but these two are about to change that.   Perfect for fans of The Hating Game and Wimbledon.

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About the Author:

Ashley R. King is a middle school English teacher whose love of the written word began when her mom took her to the public library, letting her check out stacks of books taller than she was. She’s the least athletic person you’ll ever meet, but that doesn’t decrease her love for her favorite sport, tennis. She loves swoony romances and is addicted to sweet tea. When she’s not teaching or writing happily ever afters, she can be found snuggled up with a book, travelling, or quoting obscure lines from her favorite movies and tv shows. She lives in a small town in Georgia with her favorite person in the world—her husband, and their sweet and chatty spoiled cat, Cleo.  

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