KCBR Blog

Rising Waters by Aleatha Romig is live and ready to binge read using Kindle Unlimited.  This dark psychological thriller is not to be missed.  Read my spoiler-free review below.  

Buy Now on Kindle Unlimited https://a.co/d/08MGDxDa

#affiliatelink 

A dark atmospheric psychological thriller packed with small-town secrets, buried trauma, and shocking twists.

She escaped her past—and the man she never forgot.

Now with two girls gone missing, she's pulled back into a deadly game she may not survive.

Jillian Thorne built her career making the unreal feel real.

On Hollywood soundstages, she stages murder, kidnapping, and violent crime with chilling authenticity—turning fiction into gripping entertainment.

But nothing she’s created compares to the truth waiting in Blue Gil.

Nearly six years after escaping her small hometown, Jillian is drawn back by the suspicious death of the town’s beloved high school football coach. What first appears to be a tragic loss quickly unravels into something far more sinister—a dark mystery no one is willing to confront.

Because in Blue Gil, secrets aren’t just buried… they’re protected.

As disturbing clues surface and a brutal tragedy strikes dangerously close to home, Jillian finds herself trapped inside a real-life psychological thriller. The instincts that made her successful in Hollywood may be the key to solving the crime—or the very thing clouding her judgment.

Everyone in this small town is hiding something.

Including Jillian.

To uncover the truth, she must break through an unspoken code of silence, deception, and loyalty—and face the past she thought she left behind. Because some secrets refuse to stay buried.

And in this twisted game of suspense, trusting the wrong person could be deadly.

Have you been Aleatha’d?

*Perfect for fans of Sharp Objects, All Good People Here, and The Last House Guest, Rising Waters is a dark and addictive psychological thriller filled with buried secrets, small-town corruption, twisted family loyalties, and devastating betrayals.

This is a complete 80K stand-alone psychological thriller with a STEM FMC who needs to learn secrets before it’s too late. The only connection to Aleatha’s FEAR OF FLAMES is that our favorite podcasters from Crime Daily Podcast are back, showing the readers another perspective.

*You do not need to read Crime Daily Podcast book one, FEAR OF FLAMES before RISING WATERS.

Review of Rising Waters:

Check out my spoiler-free review of My Forever Girl by Laura Pavlov.  This is the first book in the all-new Blue Sky Bay series.  Get it now on Kindle Unlimited. 

A Small Town, Friends-to-Lovers, Forbidden Love Standalone Romance from USA Today and Amazon #1 Bestselling Author, Laura Pavlov.

Gracie Reynolds and I have been best friends since we were kids.

She’s smart, kind, funny, beautiful—and one of the best parts of my life.

When Gracie walks into a room, people notice.

I always notice.

But when she moved across the world with a guy I despised, it felt like I’d lost a piece of myself.

I missed her in ways I still can’t explain.

Now she’s back— and she’s crashing at my place for a couple of months while she figures things out.

She’s single and ready for a fresh start.

I’ve always had her back, and that hasn’t changed.

What has changed?

The way that she looks at me.

The way I can’t stop looking at her.

So, when Gracie makes me a once in a lifetime proposition--obviously, I'm all in.

But this isn't your average gray area--it's a full-on, sweat-inducing, five chili pepper detour we never meant to take.

Gracie has big dreams though, and I’d never be the guy to hold her back.

Even if all I want…is to be the reason that she stays.

**This is Book 1in the Blue Sky Bay Series. Each can be read as a complete standalone. A HEA is guaranteed!**

Blue Sky Bay Series:

My Forever Girl

The Last Goodbye

My First Promise

The Best Part of Me

My Way Back to You

Spoiler Free Review

My Forever Girl by Laura Pavlov
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My Forever Girl by Laura Pavlov is the first book in the Blue Sky Bay series, and I LOVED it. Honestly, I felt like a proud parent reading this after "watching" Cutler (aka Beef Cake ) and Gracie grow up over the years through Laura's books. Now they're in their late twenties, and let me tell you, this story was everything I hoped it would be.

I've been waiting FOREVER for Cutler to get his own book, and Laura absolutely delivered. While this is technically a standalone, longtime Laura readers are going to eat this up on another level. I loved meeting new characters, and revisiting some of my old favorites felt like coming home, which really gave me next-generation "Ride or Die" vibes. That said, new readers won't feel lost jumping in here.

The best friends-to-lovers tension, the chemistry, banter, and the small-town swoon made this book unputdownable. Laura’s books are basically my catnip. Give me the charming town, protective men, chaotic families, loyal friends, and the feels, and I'm all-in every single time.

My Forever Girl was small-town romance gold and the perfect escape. I can’t wait to read The Last Goodbye when it releases in October.

The Muse by Jewel E. Ann is LIVE.  Check out my spoiler-free review and get ready to one-click your new favorite book from Jewel. 

Flynn Morley has spent his life getting by with as little as possible. No girlfriend. No real home. No money to speak of. Raised in the system, he learned early not to trust people who seemed to have everything. So when he takes a job as a “muse” for a wealthy Minneapolis couple, it feels like crossing a line he never thought he would.

Then he meets June.

June is a bike tour guide with a quick smile, a calm confidence, and a way of making Flynn feel seen without being judged. Their connection is immediate and playful, built on shared humor, quiet moments, and a mutual longing for a simple life.

As Flynn adjusts to his bizarre new job, he starts encountering something he never planned for: kindness without strings attached. It challenges everything he believes about money, power, and who gets to be comfortable in the world. And falling for June only complicates things, especially when it turns out she’s carrying secrets of her own.

When June’s past surfaces, Flynn has to decide what scares him more: becoming someone he’s always sworn he’d never be or letting her see his darkest secrets. If he can’t let go of his fears, he might lose the one person who finally feels like home.

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited. https://a.co/d/0edEnp72

Audible: https://bit.ly/4toxJUB

Amazon Audiobook: https://bit.ly/48JaNrF

Narrated by: Tim Paige & Charlotte North

Goodreads: https://bit.ly/4aE7PG1

Spoiler-free review of The Muse

No, Don't Ever Stop by Marni Mann is LIVE! Check out my spoiler-free review of No, Don't Stop by Marni Mann.  Marni serves up all the spicy goodness you didn’t know you needed.   Get it now on Kindle Unlimited. 

Kindle: https://amzn.to/4cpTPkq

Audio: https://amzn.to/4e11GpQ

Paperback: https://amzn.to/4mIMik8

Spoiler-free Review: 

Pieces of the Night by Jennifer Hartmann is LIVE and ready to binge-read. Check out my spoiler-free review below of this rockstar romance and one-click Pieces of Night on Kindle Unlimited. 

Available now:

Kindle: https://amzn.to/41yO1Pa

Audio: https://amzn.to/4tJL7TA

Blurb:

From USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Hartmann comes a new angsty, standalone contemporary romance.

I already had a life. A future. A man I'd promised forever to.

But the night I found Chase Rhodes—bleeding, broken, and more lost than I was—everything changed.

I wasn't supposed to let him in. Wasn't supposed to write music with him in secret beneath the moon.

What started as a quiet escape became something unstoppable. Our songs caught fire, and now the whole world knows our names.

Music has a way of pulling the broken together, even when the timing is impossible and the fallout inevitable.

But some hearts don't settle. Some songs were never meant to stay quiet.

Because the night I saved him was only the beginning.

And loving me might be the last risk he'll ever take.

Spoiler-free Review of Pieces of Night

Burning Blood, book two in the Darkest Destiny Trilogy by Pepper Winters, is here.  Check out my spoiler-free review.  Download this book on Kindle Unlimited. 

Burning Blood Buy Link:  https://amzn.to/4lWSXXs

Blurb: 

The second book in the Darkest Destiny Trilogy by New York Times Bestseller, Pepper Winters.

Lucien has three goals.

Escape Cinderkeep.

Ignore his feelings for Rook.

And drown in a sea of his enemies’ blood.

Rook only has one goal.

Stay alive.

But if she gives him what he wants…one of them will die.

And if one dies…the other follows.

Dark. Obsessive. Fated.

Perfect for readers who love morally grey villains, forced proximity, touch-her-and-die energy, and romance that becomes elemental.

Tropes:

Fated Mates

Elemental Magic

High Stakes

Secrets & Lies

The Burn is REAL

Power Play

Corruption

Soul Bonds

Modern to Epic Fantasy

Morally grey antihero

Touch-her-and-die energy

Spoiler-free Review of Burning Blood

Crooked by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward needs to be your next book purchase.  Crooked is straight-up addictive. Pure #ViPen magic. I loved it so much that I actually listened to the audiobook — which was a first for me! Check out my spoiler-free review.

Synopsis

A new, sexy standalone from New York Times Bestsellers Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

The last thing I needed was a live-in bodyguard. And I definitely didn’t want him. Six foot two, with broad shoulders that were impossible to ignore and a talent for getting in my way, Wes Callahan was a walking bad decision.

But when you’re the daughter of a notorious mob boss, apparently your opinions stop mattering the moment your father ignites another war. I’d spent my entire life trying to escape that crooked world—new name, new city, newfound freedom. At least until I was suddenly shacked up with my new bodyguard.

Wes knew exactly how to push my buttons. He was also infuriatingly protective. And smart. And funny. And thoughtful when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. Little by little, the walls I’d built started to crack, and falling for the bodyguard became the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done. Because if my father found out, Wes wouldn’t just lose his job. He’d lose his life.

Getting involved with him was reckless, yet I couldn’t find a way to stop it, no matter how hard I tried. But while I was busy losing my heart, the man who took it was hiding a secret.

And it turned out, the most dangerous man in my life wasn’t my father after all—it was the one who threatened to break my heart.

Crooked features TWO stunning paperback covers, will be available in Kindle Unlimited, and has a simultaneous audiobook release! 

 ✔️ Live-in bodyguard

 ✔️ Mob boss’s daughter

 ✔️ Forced proximity

 ✔️ Forbidden attraction

Amazon: https://amzn.to/45Q5CEO

Alt cover: https://amzn.to/4koxCph 

Audio: https://amzn.to/41gbtkh

Crooked by Vi Keeland
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward announced their first mafia romance, I knew I had to get my hands on it. These two have co-written some of my favorite romances, so seeing them step into the “darker” mafia bodyguard world with Crooked immediately had my attention.   I knew this book wasn’t going to be your typical mafia dark romance.  It’s Vi a Penelope, so you know this book is going to be a sexy and fun one-of-a-kind adventure.  

Juliette is the daughter of a notorious mafia boss with a target on her head.  Her father assigns Wes, one of his men, to become her live-in bodyguard to protect her full-time.  Wes has his own secrets and skeletons in his closet to deal with. Juliette wasn’t happy about her new house super hot guest —until she wasn’t.
Crooked delivers that perfect Vi-Pen blend of the feels, tension, humor, and heat, with a dangerous mafia edge that makes everything feel more intense. The chemistry and banter between Wes and Juliette were so addictive. I loved these characters so much that I finally busted my audiobook cherry and WOW. Hearing Wes and Juliette’s characters come to life took this story to a whole new level.  Great, I think I have a new audio book obsession thanks to these two.

Crooked is worthy of date night with a book. Reading Crooked wasn’t just another romance book—it was a full-on reader experience.  Crooked is easily on my top reads of 2026 romance book list. 

 

There Was Yours by S.L. Scott felt like a hug to the soul… and then completely wrecked me before putting me back together again. Then There Was You is set to release on March 27th, and you can download this one-of-a-kind romance via Kindle Unlimited. Check out my spoiler-free book review of Then There Was You by S.L. Scott.  Best of 2026.

Buy Links:

Download this book using Kindle Unlimited!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4bPr3bl

Audio: https://amzn.to/4syXpOw

Synopsis: 

The time is now.

New emotional and hopeful standalone novel by New York Times bestselling author S.L. Scott.

I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to smile, to laugh, and to really live. Until I met him.

Heart-stoppingly handsome.

Totally forbidden.

Keats Matthews looked at me like I was something special.

He was escaping his past. I wanted to escape my present. Together, we fell hard and fast and knew we had found forever. Or so we thought …

Six years later, his shoulders are broader than I remembered, his charming smile thaws my frozen heart, and it’s so tempting to run my fingers through his hair like I did years ago. But it’s the tenderness and warmth in his brown eyes that remind me of the forever we almost shared.

It’s magic when we’re together again. Our chemistry has only magnified. Seeing him, confident and more irresistible than ever, has me falling for him all over again and hoping for a second chance.

But he still believes our timing was off before. He’s wrong. It was the secret I kept hidden that was our undoing. Time hasn’t healed old wounds, and not everything hidden has come to light. When it does, we’ll stand together or fall apart. Either way, we must find out.

Author's Note: This contemporary standalone packs in the romance, heart-swoons, and love that never dies, but does not contain cheating or love triangles. It's one love in this book. Two souls that are meant for each other who will have to overcome obstacles to be together.

Spoiler-free Review: Then There Was You by S.L. Scott