KCBR Blog

The Stars Are On Our Side by Jennifer Hartmann is now live!  Check out my spoiler-free review of this dark and heart-wrenching story.  You can read this book for free on Kindle Unlimited.

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited.

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Tabitha Brighton's name made national headlines when she was kidnapped by the infamous serial killer known as the Matchmaker. She was also known for something else: being the only victim he ever willingly released.

Now, two years later, she's ready to tell her story.

Through a series of interviews with a local writer, single mother Tabitha relives every harrowing detail of her trauma, haunted by the memory of the man she was held captive with and ultimately lost. As she confronts her demons, she finds solace in Gabe--the new man in her life who will do whatever it takes to prevent her from slipping back into the shadows.

But Gabe has his own troubled past that threatens to unravel their fragile connection. And just when Tabitha begins to believe in the possibility of new love and a fresh start, her world is turned upside down once again.

Gabe always tells her not to look down, to keep flying. But even stars fall...

And no one ever talks about the crash.

** The Stars Are on Our Side is an interconnected standalone in the world of Still Beating and Lotus, featuring fan-favorite characters Tabitha and Gabe. It is HIGHLY recommended that you read both Still Beating and Lotus prior to reading this book for the most effective reading experience.

Spoiler-free Review:

Add to Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3qCbwbl 

Before the Sunset by Laura Pavlov is now live!  Check out my spoiler-free review below and get ready to one-click this book on Kindle Unlimited.   I LOVED IT!!!   𝙆𝘾𝘽𝙍 𝙇𝙇𝘾 𝙒𝘼𝙎 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝙁𝙄𝙉𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙄𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙔 𝘾𝙊𝙈𝙋𝙀𝙉𝙎𝘼𝙏𝙀𝘿 𝙏𝙊 𝙋𝙊𝙎𝙏 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙎 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒.

Try Kindle Unlimited FREE for the first month (new users)  https://amzn.to/3kWF1iA

He’s an actor in need of an image makeover. She’s determined to show her ex-fiancé that she’s moved on. A fake relationship between two best friends is the perfect solution. Or is it?

Reese Murphy has been my best friend since before we took our first steps.

She’s the yin to my yang.

The peanut butter to my jelly.

It’s all platonic, of course, as we made a pact years ago that we’d never cross the line.

But then she took a job abroad and moved away for a year.

To say I’ve been lost without her would be a massive understatement.

She’s finally coming home, and I couldn’t be happier about it.

And then she presents me with a proposition...

Pretend to be her boyfriend.

I am an actor, after all, so it should be a piece of cake.  

It’s all part of her grand plan to show her ex-fiancé that she’s moved on.

My agent wants me to clean up my image, so it would be a win-win for both of us.

But then she moves into my house and prances around in those tiny pajama shorts.

There's also the night she catches me alone in the bathroom in a compromising position.

And she isn’t in any hurry to leave.

We get lost in the moment and now I can’t think of anything else.

We are way past a gray area at this point.

We’ve entered a smoking-hot-I-think-I-might-be-in-love-with-my-best-friend area.

The problem is, she still thinks we’re fake dating.

And I stopped faking it a long time ago.

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Laura Pavlov writes sweet and sexy contemporary romance that will make you both laugh and cry. She is happily married to her college sweetheart, mom to two awesome almost-grown kids, and dog-whisperer to one temperamental yorkie and one wild bernedoodle. Laura resides in Las Vegas where she is living her own happily ever after. Be sure to sign up for updates on new releases. Laura loves to hear from readers!

 

Connect with Laura

Website: https://www.laurapavlov.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6569734.Laura_Pavlov

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The Risk of Falling: a marriage of convenience by Nikki Ash is LIVE and FREE for Kindle Unlimited users. Check out my spoiler-free review below. As always, 𝗞𝗖𝗕𝗥 𝗟𝗟𝗖 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪.

Buy Links:

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Paperback: https://amzn.to/3Robxuw (alt cover available)

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Title: The Risk of Falling

Blurb:

Spoiler-free review:

Salt Kiss by Sierra Simone is LIVE. You don't want to miss this one. Salt Kiss is a kinky, MMF retelling of the Tristan and Isolde legend with age gaps, bodyguards, and antiheroes! Check out my spoiler-free review below. This book is nuclear hot! 𝗞𝗖𝗕𝗥 𝗟𝗟𝗖 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗣𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪.

Grab your copy here:

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Apple: https://apple.co/3GW1S88

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Tristan Thomas is lost. 

After leaving the Army, the young former soldier is in limbo. Until, that is, he’s hired by Mark Trevena, the owner of Lyonesse—DC’s ultra-secret club—to be Mark’s new bodyguard. He’s drawn into Mark’s dark, seductive world of power and desire, and slowly drawn to Mark himself, even though Mark is everything Tristan knows he shouldn’t want: cruel and wicked and shamelessly amoral.

But protecting Mark isn’t Tristan’s only duty: soon, Mark asks him to guard his soon-to-be bride as she travels home from Ireland on Mark’s yacht. Tristan is jealous—and hurt to learn that the object of his obsession is engaged—but the soldier in him is made to obey orders, and he goes to fetch Mark’s bride for him.

Isolde Laurence is nothing like Tristan expected, however. Young, quiet, and sharp, she’s being pushed into this marriage by her family, and as the two travel back to America, Tristan finds himself fascinated with Isolde and the glimpses he gets of the lonely but determined woman behind her reserve. And the fascination is mutual: one night, while sailing under the cold stars, they share a searing kiss. 

From there, it’s a fast fall into the forbidden.  

But in Mark Trevena’s world, the fall is only the beginning…

The Lyonesse trilogy is a queer, kinky contemporary retelling of the legend of Tristan and Isolde, set in the same world as the New Camelot series. Readers will not have to read New Camelot to enjoy Lyonesse, although readers who enjoyed New Camelot will find all the things they loved about the trilogy here: MMF ménage, plenty of the angsty forbidden, and a sweeping retelling of a familiar story.

Review of Salt Kiss:

Shattered Secrets by Lilian Harris is LIVE and available to download on Kindle Unlimited!  Check out my spoiler-free review and get ready to one-click this unforgettable mafia romance! 

Buy Link: https://amzn.to/3Rdi0Z1

Try Kindle Unlimited for FREE (new users) https://amzn.to/3cUGwaH

Synopsis: 

I was loved by two men--one was my husband and the other his best friend. But I was only in love with one. Then he forgot I existed.

Hudson Mackay was the only man I ever wanted.

The man I married. The man who promised to love me "'til death do us part."

Then he disappeared and never came home.

Everyone thinks he's dead. Everyone but me.

Friends tell me to move on. That he's never coming back.

But with every single month that passes, I can't seem to let go.

His best friend Brooks swears I'll never be alone. That he'll always be there.

But the stronger his feelings for me get, the more I realize how wrong they are.

I can't move on. Especially not with him.

Hudson wouldn't want that. But Hudson isn't here.

And soon I learn, Hudson was a liar.

He kept secrets that could ruin us.

Secrets I'll take to my grave.

I never thought I'd get the chance to see him again, to ask how he could betray me.

Until one day, I discover he's alive.

Except, he has no idea who I am.

I never truly knew my husband.

And now, he doesn't know me.

Author Note: This is a standalone. No other books need to be read to enjoy this one. There is no cheating and no OW drama. It has a HEA.

Review of Shattered Secrets by Lilian Harris

LIVE EARLY ON AMAZON! Read an excerpt from I Could Never by Penelope Ward.  You can also check out my spoiler-free review and get ready to one-click this emotion-packed enemies-to-lovers standalone romance on August 21st!  

Title: I Could Never

Author: Penelope Ward

Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance

Tropes: Forbidden Romance/Enemies to Lovers

Release Date: August 21, 2023

BLURB

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new forbidden, enemies-to-lovers story…

It all started with an unexpected phone call.

Two years after my fiancé passed away in an accident, his father died suddenly, leaving Brad’s adult, special-needs brother with no one to care for him.

The next thing I knew, I was on a cross-country drive to New Hampshire where I’d be moving in to look after Scottie until I could get him into a group home.

The last thing I ever expected?

I wouldn’t be taking care of him alone.

Josh Mathers, my fiance’s best friend—who also happened to be my sworn enemy—insisted he was the better person for the job. He told me to go back to California, and I told him where he could stick that demand.

Our disdain for each other wasn’t anything new. It dated back to a text I’d accidentally read years ago.

We hated each other. But we both loved Scottie, so neither of us budged.

Now we were living together in a tiny house—with one available bedroom. Thank goodness it was only temporary.

Over time, I realized the broody jerk I thought I knew was different than I’d imagined.

I found myself slowly growing attached to someone I once considered the enemy…and growing attracted to him. 

Sure, both of us were guilt-ridden over Brad. We were also two grown people with pent-up frustration toward one another—stuck in a cabin in the woods.

But this was Josh.

I could never.

GOODREADS LINK: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/186725244

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**No Amazon e-book preorder. Will go live on/around release day.

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW:

EXCERPT

 

Copyright © 2023 by Penelope Ward

 

Josh sat at the table, casually having coffee as I walked into the house after my drive home from the salon. The smell of cigarettes emanated from him. He hadn’t smelled like that since the first day he arrived.

“Where’s Scottie?” I asked.

“In his room,” he answered without making eye contact.

I stated the obvious. “You smell like smoke.”

“Must be the firewood.” He brought his mug to his mouth.

“Bullsh*t. The pellet stove doesn’t emit any fumes.”

“Yeah. I caved and had one. Big deal.” He pointed toward the door. “I did it outside, though, while keeping an eye on Scottie through the window.”

“You’d been doing so well. What happened?”

He still wasn’t looking at me, and instead stared straight ahead. “Just human, I guess.”

Then something in front of him on the table caught my attention: pieces of ripped pages piled atop…my journal.

A rush of adrenaline shot through me. “Why do you have that?”

“It’s apparently your diary.”

“I’m quite aware of that.” My heart began to pound. “You were snooping in my room?”

He shot daggers at me. “Think, Carly. Of the two guys in this house, who is the one more likely to have been ransacking your room?”

“You were supposed to be watching him while I was at the salon,” I yelled.

“God forbid I take a piss in peace. Is it not bad enough that I’m showering with him now? Getting my balls tugged?”

I wanted to laugh, but this moment was far from funny.

“Scottie ripped those pages out?”

“The notebook is bright orange, like his iPad cover. Probably caught his attention. The drawer next to your bed was open, so he must have gone in there. I assume that’s where you kept it. Admittedly, I’d been letting him hang out in your room, but you sometimes do, too. I went to check on him, make sure he wasn’t doing anything bad, and found those pages strewn about.” A vein popped in his neck.

Josh was angry. Why? I should’ve been the angry one.

“Did you read it?”

“I only happened to see what was on the pages he ripped. I didn’t read anything else once I figured out what the hell it was.”

This is bad. Starting to sweat, I asked, “But how much did you see?”

He stood up from his seat and slowly approached me. With each step he took toward me, I took one back. When we could go no farther, he placed his arms on either side of me, leaning his hands against the wall. And I forgot how to breathe.

Fear. Arousal. Embarrassment. You name it, I was feeling it right now. Every emotion hit me at once.

His breath grazed my face. “How much did I actually see?” He paused. “Enough to know you think I’m an evil pig.”

Ugh. No. Now his anger made sense.

When he backed away, I walked over to the ripped pages on the table and sifted through them.

“It’s the last one, for reference,” he noted.

I read what I’d written the other night.

 

 

AUTHOR BIO

 

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

 

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

 

With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over thirty books. Her novels have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.

 

 

AUTHOR LINKS

 

Website: https://penelopewardauthor.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/penelopewardauthor

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PenelopesPeeps

Instagram: http://instagram.com/PenelopeWardAuthor

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@penelopewardofficial

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PenelopeAuthor