Spotlight: Made To Last by A.S. Kelly

(Love At Last, #5)

Publication date: December 4th 2024

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Synopsis:

Allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Tommy O’Doherty, and I’m madly in love.

Too blunt, you say? Seriously, why lie?

Everyone seems to know about it already. The gossip about my major crush on my best friend’s neighbour has spread like wildfire.

And I have to admit, I didn’t do anything to stop it.

Not everyone is as good at pretending to be a playboy—even if the most they can handle is a PlayStation—like my weird colleagues and messy friends. Not everyone can keep it together when they meet the sweetest, most sensitive, and most wonderful creature on Earth.

Too bad she doesn’t see herself that way. Too bad she doesn’t believe my words, my kisses, my caresses, or my romantic gestures. Too bad she’s not ready to believe that what we have is real and that I’m not just her backup boyfriend, but the man who truly wants to be with her.

Even though I keep telling her that we are made to last, I’m starting to think she will never believe me unless I am willing to show her in a dramatic and obviously questionable way that I’m serious and that there is no better man for her than me.

Each book in the Love At Last Series is standalone:

– Last Call

– About Last Night

– One Last Kiss

– The Last One

– Made To Last

Excerpt

I walk into her place and shut the door, but I linger in the doorway as Ivy heads to the kitchen. She returns two minutes later with a vase full of flowers. She places them on the coffee table next to the couch and then looks at me.
“Did you really say you’re into me?”
“Totally. I said I’m totally into you.”
Ivy bites her full red lip, her eyes bright, emotional, and surprised. The perfume she’s wearing wafts through the air, making me lose my lucidity for a moment, and…
And she’s already messed up my head.
You know that, right?
All I need is that twinkle in her eye, that slight flush on her face as she realises I can’t take my eyes off her. All I need is that anxious breath that seems to be a reflection of my own. All I need is this silence, filled with images to capture and moments to write about. All I need is to know that she wanted this as much as I wanted it.
I don’t know how long it takes to realize that the person in front of you is the one you want next to you. I’m already there.
Am I completely insane, or am I unexpectedly wise?
Only time will tell.

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About the Author

A. S. Kelly writes Rom-Com, Romantic Fiction and Family Saga.

Avid reader, hopeless romantic, lover of yoga, knitting and home baking.

She was born in Italy but lives in Ireland with her husband, two children and a cat named Oscar.

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Spotlight: Brian and Mina’s Holiday Hits by Kitty Thomas

Publication date: December 18th 2024

Genres: Adult, Comedy, Dark Romance, Romance

Synopsis:

“Be honest with me, Brian. Are we going on a cross-country killing spree?”

“I’d hardly call it a spree.”

Brian Sloane is a pure psychopathic monster… to everyone but Mina.

She was looking for a good man to scratch a particular itch but instead ended up bought by the violent enforcer of a submissive training house.

Against all odds, the villain became her hero. She was the light to his dark until the lights went out, and the darkness inside her came out to play.

Now they’re both killers, chasing the blood lust, running toward their demons, each hit job more dangerous than the last. From a twisted Easter hunt, to an explosive Fourth of July, from a deadly masquerade ball, to an even deadlier Krampus run, culminating in the Do or Die Valentine’s Day Kill that will either seal their doom or their happily ever after.

Do killers even deserve a happy ending?

Excerpt

“Brian, maybe we should leave,” Mina says, tugging on my arm. That absolutely will not happen. This loose end has to go, along with any paper evidence that might tie back to us. I know there’s no paper trail around the payment, but there is that fucking master list Benjamin kept.

“Are you kidding me right now? You believe in this shit?” I say to Mina, not taking my eyes off our new target.

“I mean… no… but… I don’t know... maybe…”

“I-I could read your cards,” Benjamin says, clearly attempting to buy more time to live and to sway Mina against me.

“Mina…” I say, “he’s a threat. He’s already proven he can’t be trusted. I don’t do loose ends. You know this. And I’m not going to risk you for this fool.”

“You should have all the information before you make a choice,” Benjamin says. As though tarot cards count as information.

Mina takes her mask off and gives me the puppy eyes. Fuck. I swear. 

“Fine, read my cards, but it won’t change your fate.”

I back off of him and remove my own mask as well as the heavy costume. I have a black T-shirt and jeans underneath and easier access to my weapons—exactly what I need with this slippery eel. I watch him carefully to make sure he isn’t going to try some sleight of hand magic trick to gain control of the situation. If he sells so much of that shit, he probably knows how most of it works.

Mina also removes her outer costume. These costumes are fucking hot, and while they felt nice and cozy in the cold winter air, they are much more claustrophobic and stifling indoors.

Benjamin sits at the table and gathers up the tarot cards. They are black with intricately designed hyper real artwork. Pale alabaster nude figures are visible before he turns them face down and shuffles them into the deck.

“I need to add your energy to the cards, so cut the deck,” he says.

I can’t believe I’m engaging in this foolishness. But I cut the deck, trying to figure out what this guy has up his sleeve and how he’ll try to wriggle off my hook. Surely Mina must know we can’t leave this man breathing. That’s the real danger, not his spooky ambiance and fucking tarot cards.

He holds my gaze for a moment, and then draws a card and lays it out on the table.

The Lovers.

I don’t know what any of this means, but, The Lovers seems like a positive card, at least. The second card he turns over is The Devil.

Well, that’s for sure me. No mysteries of the universe uncovered here.

The final card he pulls and flips over… The Tower. 

His eyes widen a fraction as he takes it all in. I glance over to Mina and her gaze is riveted to him. Okay clearly The Tower isn’t a good card, but who the fuck cares? They’re just cards. They don’t have any magic powers. They can’t tell your fate or destiny. They’re just cards.

Benjamin locks eyes with me and says in a way far more solemn and creepy than he should be able to with his life on the line, “Tell her before it’s too late.”

I feel Mina go still beside me. She’s buying this shit. I know she is. I glance down to see she’s unconsciously twisting her grandmother’s ring on her finger—the one she was told has protective power.

Benjamin’s proclamation is exactly the kind of vague bullshit you’d get in a fortune telling tent. No clairvoyance required to set ambiance, pull out some cards, and say something that sounds almost wise. He assumes I have some sort of secret and is just trying to sow discord so he can barter with Mina for his life. Not a giant leap to make with a sequence like: The Lovers. The Devil. And The Tower.

“Oh yeah? How about we read your cards and see what fate and all the powers that be have in store for you.”

I take the cards from the table, insert The Lovers, The Devil, and The Tower face down on top, and shuffle them.

“Cut the deck,” I say, sneering at him. “It needs your energy.”

I see him swallow visibly now that he’s in the hot seat. He cuts the deck and I pull and flip over the card on top.

Death.

I look up at him and smile. His eyes widen, the blood draining from his face as he sees his little stalling technique didn’t work after all.

“The death card doesn’t mean death! The death card doesn’t mean death!” he says frantically, waving his hands in front of me as if performing some warding protective magic.

“Well, in this case it does.” I pick up the sharp pointy knife that looks like a mini jeweled sword off the table and jab it into his carotid. 

He grabs at his throat, his eyes wide. “That was a mistake.”

Or I think that’s what he said. The blood is gurgling and choking him, muffling his words so I really can’t tell. He could have said anything. A moment later, he’s dead, his sightless eyes staring up at the ceiling.

Mina snaps out of whatever trance she was sitting in just now. “Brian! My God, what did you do?”

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About the Author

KITTY THOMAS writes dark stories that play with power and have unconventional HEAs. She began publishing in early 2010 with her bestselling COMFORT FOOD and is considered one of the original authors of the dark romance subgenre.

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Spotlight: A Buckeye Falls Christmas by Libby Kay

Genre: Contemporary Holiday Romance 

On the first day of Christmas, Buckeye Falls gave to me…

A snow storm…

Uninvited dinner guests…

A Christmas pageant…

And a friends’ reunion dinner to warm your heart.

It’s been ten years since five couples found love in this charming small Ohio town. Families and careers have grown, but the love remains the same.

Max is hosting Christmas at the diner, a final sendoff before the beloved hangout gets a facelift. But the risk of a snow storm and a few uninvited guests threaten everyone’s plans. Will it be a Christmas to remember, or will their holiday get plowed away?

Revisit your favorite couples in this holiday novella, which includes favorite recipes from the series. Warning: this story will make you hungry and may cause uncontrollable swoons.

Excerpt

Ginny kissed Max’s cheek, tasting his tears on her lips. “Max, honey. This rarely happens. C’mon, Henry’s going to be the lead in the Christmas pageant. He’s a tough kid, just like his father.” She punctuated her statement with another kiss.

Max coughed and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Oh yeah, I’m a real macho man.” 

“Yeah, because you know they’re my type.” Ginny theatrically rolled her eyes. 

“I shudder to think of what your type is,” Max said, gesturing at his current state. His eyes were red, he was covered in dirt and dog kibble, and he probably could stand another few hours of sleep. 

Ginny leaned back, tapping her chin. “Well, let’s see. I like a man who can take care of me and my children. Someone who can cook, like really well. And it would be nice if he was a small business owner and took care of my father like his own. Oh, and if he’s also best friends with my best friends, that would be perfect.” Ginny huffed and pulled herself to her feet. “Looks like that’s a pretty tall order.” 

Max snatched Ginny’s hand and pulled her onto his lap. “Okay, Mrs. Sanchez. Point made.” He kissed his wife, relishing in the fact they were still together after all these years. Life wasn’t always perfect, but it was from where he sat. “I need to get to the diner and start working on the menu for Christmas.” 

Ginny kissed him one more time before pulling back. “And I’m needed in the office.” 

“Love you, Gin.” 

“Love you more.”

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Paperback | Bookshop.org

About the Author 

Libby Kay lives in the city in the heart of the Midwest with her husband. When she’s not writing, Libby loves reading romance novels of any kind. Stories of people falling in love nourish her soul. Contemporary or Regency, sweet or hot, as long as there is a happily ever after—she’s in love!

When not surrounded by books, Libby can be found baking in her kitchen, binging true crime shows, or on the road with her husband, traveling as far as their bank account will allow.

Libby cohosts the Romance Roundup podcast with Liz Donatelli on the Reader Seeks Romance Channel where they recommend romance books and interview authors, influencers, and publishers. Check it out for your weekly dose of romance!

Website * Facebook * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads

Spotlight: I Love That Girl by Hannah R. Goodman

Published by: The Wild Rose Press

Publication date: January 1st 2025

Genres: New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

Once called the four-headed monster in high school, only to be decapitated by the disaster of coupling up, four childhood friends have healed their wounds and found their way back to each other in college—or so they thought.

Now, months before they enter the “real” world, decapitation once again is imminent by way of: a rejected proposal, a birth control fail, an almost ménage a quartet, and a secret (and-thought-to-be-impossible) hook-up. Everything explodes over the course of a Christmas vacation in Florida, leaving the survival of these four friendships, once again, on the brink.

Excerpt

We locked eyes for a moment, the dim light and dark shadows between us. Her wavy sunset-blonde hair was in a messy bun, with tendrils falling around her face. I wanted to let  her hair down, scoop it up with my fingers, inhale the flowery scent of her shampoo. I didn’t move a single part of me except my eyes, which traced the dotting of piercings up her left ear and then roamed across to her smallish nose that had just a blush of light freckles that matched her hair and down to her button-shaped mouth.

“Okay,” she said, her shoulder sliding out from the old sweatshirt that she cut the hood off of. I wanted to kiss her shoulder so badly, I had to put my hand over

my mouth and pretend to cough.

The blackout made the moment dreamy. I reached over and pulled her shirt up to cover her shoulder, and when my fingers made contact with her soft skin, her expression changed, softened, and relaxed. She smiled.

“I’ll get the wine.” She popped up, slid her feet into her fuzzy slippers, walked over to the kitchen area, and snatched the almost full bottle. Then she said, “Do you have a set of cards? We can play Bullshit. Remember how much we used to love that game?”

I laughed and said, “I think it was the only drinking game we knew in high school.”

“I’m pretty sure we were the only people who actually found a way to make it a drinking game.” 

In the darkness, her hair piled up, she looked like a princess but also like an angel, and while I couldn’t find those words in the moment, that’s what I saw. A princess-angel with a pretty but foul mouth. The combination was exhilarating.

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About the Author

Psychotherapist by day and writer by night, Hannah R. Goodman prefers tea over coffee, cats over dogs, and staying in over going out. Hannah is a graduate of the Solstice Program where she earned an MFA in Writing For Young People.In 2018, Black Rose Writing published her contemporary YA novel Till It Stops Beating, which was praised by reviewers for its realistic and hilarious depiction of first love, first loss, and first mental break down. Her publishing history goes back almost 20 years when she published My Sister’s Wedding, which won first place in the 2004 Writer’s Digest Self Published Books awards Children’s/Teen Division. The Wild Rose Press will publish her New Adult novel I Love That Girl on January 1, 2025.

Connect:

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Spotlight: The Drowning Game by Barbara Nickless

A woman’s investigation into her sister’s death exposes the dark side of a secret life in a gripping novel of power, money, and murder by a Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

Sisters Nadia and Cass Brenner are heirs to Ocean House, a decades-old empire that builds superyachts for the rich and powerful: emirs, oligarchs, and titans of industry throughout America and Europe. They’re a next-generation success with the design of their soon-to-be-commissioned megayacht for a Chinese billionaire. But the sisters’ entrée into the coveted Asian market is tragically cut short when Cass falls from a fortieth-floor hotel window.

A Singapore detective rules suicide. Nadia’s been in the yacht business too long not to be suspicious. Especially when she discovers Cass’s involvement in dangerously illicit activities. Pulled into the same web of betrayal, lies, and secrets that trapped her sister, Nadia is on the most perilous mission of her life. Because uncovering the truth behind her sister’s death could tear the Brenner family apart―and it just might get her killed.

From Seattle to Austria to the South China Sea, Nadia must hold on to the one thing that can keep her safe. It’s the Brenner family motto: Trust no one.

Excerpt

Singapore

August 25, 6:00 p.m. SGT

Her entire life, Cassandra’s father had told her: Trust no one.

Yet here she was. A foreigner—an ang moh—her life in the hands of people she hardly knew. 

Another lesson from her father that she’d ignored. 

She moved with deliberate slowness through Singapore’s teeming streets, her skin damp in the 100° heat as she drifted from one clump of tourists to another—their jostling, shouting, picture-taking enthusiasm providing cover. She’d set out from the offices of Ocean House hours ago on the route she’d planned last week—changing directions on a seeming whim, darting through traffic, ducking into couture shops and souvenir stores, pausing to light joss sticks at Buddhist and Hindu temples, her palms pressed together and her head bent in prayer. She descended into the bowels of the underground to hop on and off the metro. Virgil’s words came back to her: watch for repeat vehicles, familiar silhouettes, someone hiding their face behind a map. 

A month earlier, she’d killed most of the apps on her phone. Anything that would allow the Chinese to piece together the life of the real Cassandra Brenner. There was no avoiding the city cameras; she could only hope her disguise and a lack of Chinese sleeper agents within the Singaporean security services would protect her.

Spies would say she was running a surveillance detection route—an SDR. Cassandra understood the concept. A few years ago, one of their celebrity clients—a sheikh commissioning a 300-foot luxury motor yacht—insisted she and Nadia learn how to avoid the paparazzi. He’d hired a former CIA case officer to teach the sisters how to conduct SDRs.

At the time it had seemed frivolous.

Not anymore.

She shifted her canvas tote to her left shoulder and the handle of her rolling suitcase to her right, then paused to retouch her lipstick, using a compact mirror to inspect the walkway behind her. Surely she was clear of all surveillance by now—“black” in spy lingo. 

Unless she’d missed something. In the vibrant, restless, multiethnic throng swarming the city, failing to spot a tail was as easy as overlooking a spider lurking beneath your sheets.

Every spy is haunted, Virgil had said last night. By our mistakes. By the lives we hold. By the risks we take. It goes with the territory.

She’d shaken her head. I’m not a spy. I’m an amateur.

His dry laugh had sounded like fingers snapping. Cass, listen carefully. It’s critical that tomorrow you’re not made before you reach the hotel. Singapore is one of the most surveilled cities in the world. But it’s got nothing on Shanghai. Tomorrow is a test.

And here she was. She stopped at a corner, waiting for the light to change. Waiting for her sixth sense to offer up that prickle that said eyes were on her. 

But her gut whispered that she was black. She crossed the street with the light then paused in front of a restaurant to blot her face with a tissue, the paper coming away dark from sweat, the ruin of her makeup, and traces of adhesive. She was clear. She could hail a Grab car, be at the Marina Bay Sands hotel in minutes. Wash up and order a drink.

God, she wanted a drink.

She checked the time—6:02 p.m. Right on schedule. She turned away from the heady scents of coconut curry and mango and her pretense of perusing a menu in the restaurant’s window and plunged into the crowds headed toward Merlion Park.

Her blouse clung to her back, her capris to her bum. Her bare feet squelched in rubber sandals. An hour into her SDR, the heavens had unleashed the kind of storm—sudden, savage—typical for afternoons in the tropics. Rain had lashed the streets, the sidewalks, the cars, the parks, the trees, the people until the gutters turned into rivers and the sidewalks into a brilliant bloom of umbrellas. People went undeterred about their business, as used to the storms as the heat. Only the tourists cowered under awnings or cursed and ran.

The rain had vanished as suddenly as it came, leaving the early evening pavement gleaming. The ungodly heat pressed back in.

She paused before another restaurant. A car slowed, pulled to the curb. She prepared to run as the back door opened. A trio of young Chinese women spilled out, all dressed to the nines, giggling, gossiping, clicking selfies.

Cassandra watched them disappear into the restaurant.

She was clear. 

She rubbed her heel where a blister had formed then attached herself to a different group of tourists. The last residue of rain had evaporated into the laden air and sounds and smells burst forth with rejuvenated enthusiasm.  She noted the hiss of tires, the mechanical cheeps and chirps of crosswalks, the tramping of thousands of pairs of feet, feet that belonged to the financial district’s young up-and-comers. The men wore conservative suits and ties. The women flashed an aviary of brilliantly colored skirts and dresses, blouses, and suits. The occasional whiff of perfume and cologne mingled with car exhaust and an intoxicating mix of aromas from the international lineup of eateries.

Moving faster now, she crossed through Merlion Park’s rectangle of grass and past the white-blossomed frangipani trees onto the jetty. She stood overlooking Marina Bay, where the Singapore River spilled into the waters of the cove and from there to the sea. 

Across the bay was her destination—the three immense towers of Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Beside her was the city’s iconic twenty-eight-foot-high fountain, the Merlion, boasting the head of a lion and the body of a fish. She turned around as if to take a selfie and observed the crowd, looking for faces she’d mentally categorized earlier. The Chinese man with the maroon leather briefcase and Yankees cap she’d noted outside the Takashimaya Shopping Centre. The Tamil woman in a Chanel suit and sneakers who’d boarded and exited the metro’s Downtown Line when she did. 

She rotated in place but saw only new faces. 

She dropped her phone in her bag and forced herself to amble as she headed out of the park toward the hotel, the sun now a fiery ball slotting light between the skyscrapers. In a few more minutes, it would be night.

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About the Author

Barbara Nickless is the Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of Play of Shadows, Dark of Night, and At First Light in the Dr. Evan Wilding series, as well as the Sydney Rose Parnell series, which includes Blood on the Tracks, a Suspense Magazine Best of 2016 selection and winner of the Colorado Book Award and the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence; Dead Stop, winner of the Colorado Book Award and nominee for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence; Ambush; and Gone to Darkness. Her essays and short stories have appeared in Writer’s Digest and on Criminal Element, among other markets. She lives in Colorado, where she loves to cave, snowshoe, hike, and drink single malt Scotch―usually not at the same time

Spotlight: The Big Skate by Elise Faber

Release Date: December 26

I’ve sworn off love…until her.
The only problem? She can’t stand me.

Gorgeous, single mom Ivy wants absolutely nothing to do with me.

She thinks I’m a player—and maybe I am.

She thinks I don’t take anything seriously—and maybe I don’t.

She thinks I can never make her happy—but I’ve never been more focused on anything else. Not ever. Not even on hockey, and I live and breathe the sport.

She doesn’t understand that she’s become my reason for existing—

That if there’s any game in my life I’m willing to do anything to win…

It’s claiming her heart as mine.

Buy on Amazon Kindle | Paperback

Meet Elise Faber

USA TODAY bestselling author, Elise Faber, loves chocolate, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and hockey (the order depending on the day and how well her team—the Sharks!—are playing). She and her husband also play as much hockey as they can squeeze into their schedules, so much so that their typical date night is spent on the ice. Elise changes her hair color more often than some people change their socks, loves sparkly things, and is the mom to two exuberant boys. She lives in Northern California. 

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For more information on Elise Faber and her books visit: https://www.elisefaber.com/

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