KCBR Blog

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. 

 

Taylor’s Father by Penelope Ward is LIVE! Check out my spoiler-free review and get ready to one-click this unputdownable, age-gap, forbidden romance on Kindle Unlimited. Absolute PW magic.

Title: Taylor’s Father

SYNOPSIS:

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

AUTHOR LINKS

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

X: https://twitter.com/PenelopeAuthor

The House Guest by Penelope Ward is LIVE and one of my top reads of the year. Read my spoiler-free review below. Get this book now on Kindle Unlimited.

What You Can Expect:

• BILLIONAIRE HERO

• ROOMMATES

• TWIST

• SLOW BURN

• ANGSTY AND FORBIDDEN

Available to read using Kindle Unlimited now! 

Kindle: https://amzn.to/3HYqOQ6

Audio: https://amzn.to/4g2etXV

Special Edition Paperback: https://amzn.to/3JAHP3v

Model paperback cover: https://amzn.to/463eHti

SYNOPSIS:

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new, STANDALONE contemporary romance…

The last thing Dorian Vanderbilt expected was to find me painting in my crop top when he returned to the mansion he hadn’t inhabited in years.

He was understandably surprised I’d turned his living room into an art space.

Life is certainly full of surprises, though, but not always in a good way.

I learned that lesson when my aunt and the billionaire she married died unexpectedly while traveling.

I’d been living with them, and just like that, my life was turned on its axis.

Unsure of what was next, I stayed alone at the barren estate figuring out my next move.

That was when Dorian—the late billionaire’s only son—showed up. 

I’d never met Dorian Vanderbilt. He’d been living on the other side of the country.

But now, he was home, left to pick up the pieces of his father’s legacy.

Not only was Dorian devastatingly handsome and mysterious, but he was the sole heir to the Vanderbilt fortune.

He didn’t seem to like me—at first. We were total opposites. But I was grateful that at least he didn’t kick me out.

We stayed out of each other’s way for the most part, save for some late-night kitchen run-ins or unexpected bonding sessions in the home theater.

Over time, though, we grew closer. Turned out, our chemistry was pretty combustible.

I was falling in love with him.

Until everything I thought I knew turned upside down yet again.

And fate left me pining for the one man I’d ever loved.

Synopsis:

Denim & Diamonds by Penelope Ward AND Vi Keeland is LIVE and available on Kindle Unlimited.  I absolutely loved this standalone opposites-attract small-town romance.  Check out my spoiler-free review.

Buy Links: 

Amazon US: https://bit.ly/44g41GF

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/4luY2VH

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3ZPdfs7

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3T9zipO

Audio: https://adbl.co/45HhQ3w

Paperback (Alternative cover): https://amzn.to/3I0a22T

Bookshop.org https://fave.co/3J3YvzT

Affiliate

Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling authors Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland comes a new standalone romance. When the board of directors of my company mandated that I go to a wellness facility in small-town Maine to recharge, that shouldn’t have included:

1.) Using a ladder to sneak out of the bedroom window at night and going to the local bar.

2.) Getting so drunk that the bar owner brought me upstairs to sleep it off in his bed.

3.) Waking up staring at the taxidermy moose head on said bar owner’s wall.

4.) Falling for said bar owner who was the most drop-dead gorgeous man I’ve ever seen.

But Brock Hawkins was so much more than just the hot bar owner. He owned half the town, built log cabins with his bare hands, and was apparently the most eligible man in all of Meadowbrook.

He was also a cinnamon roll despite his seemingly rock-hard exterior.

And the last man I should’ve been falling for—because my time in this small town was limited.

I had to head back to my life in New York City, one that was the complete opposite from the kind Brock lived.

He was denim. I was diamonds.

The problem was, the sexy lumberjack wasn’t the type of man who was easy to walk away from. Hell, I couldn’t even part with his plaid shirt that had become a constant fixture wrapped around my shoulders most days, let alone think about erasing him from my life.

A life with Brock, though, would have to be all or nothing.

Go big or go home.

 Spoiler-free review

PENELOPE WARD

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

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

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

Website: http://www.penelopewardauthor.com 

Instagram: http://instagram.com/PenelopeWardAuthor 

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

X: https://twitter.com/PenelopeAuthor 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7105545.Penelope_Ward 

VI KEELAND

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-seven languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films by Passionflix, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/vi.keeland 

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Vi-Keeland/435952616513958 

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

Website: http://www.vikeeland.com 

Instagram: http://instagram.com/Vi_Keeland 

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

X: https://twitter.com/ViKeeland 

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6887119.Vi_Keeland