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Author of romance novels such as Red Card and Privileged, Carrie Aarons writes books that are just as swoon-worthy as they are sarcastic. A former journalist, she prefers the stories she dreams up, and the yoga pant dress code, much better.

When she isn't writing, Carrie is busy binging reality TV, having a love/hate relationship with cardio, and trying not to burn dinner. She lives in the suburbs of New Jersey with her husband, daughter and dog.

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Mamma's Moon
The Hoodoo of Peckerwood Finch
by Jerome Mark Antil
Genre: Thriller

​

"Jerome Mark Antil's Mamma's Moon does for Acadiana what Truman Capote did for Tiffany's or Tennessee Williams did for streetcars. This is a novel about a lot of things, including sex, crime, life, and death. But most of all, it's a novel about hope and about love.
Mamma's Moon gives the reader a dramatic and insightful glimpse into the very special world of today's Louisiana French Acadians, whose early tragic history was immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his classic poem, Evangeline, even before the heartless bayou's more contemporary history was buried deep and forgotten.​"
Tom Hyman (LA Times bestselling author: writer for LIFEmagazine, The Saturday Evening Post, Argosy, Washington Post Book World and New York Magazine.)

​This novel, Mamma's Moon, is a sequel to the novel, One More Last Dance. It stands alone as an entirely self-contained story, but for those of you who may not have read the earlier novel, I include here a brief description of the main characters and of the events that preceded this story.
A bond that can only happen on a dance floor happened in a cafe off Frenchman Street among four unlikely characters: a man who was about to die; his friend, an illiterate Cajun French yardman; and two of the most successful women in New Orleans.
Aging Captain Gabriel Jordan, retired, was given two months to live, three months before he met "Peck"--Boudreau Clemont Finch--a groundskeeper on the back lawn of his hospice on Bayou Carencro, Louisiana. It was at the hospice that Gabe told Peck his dream of seeing the Newport Jazz Festival before he died. They became friends, and Peck offered to help grant his wish by taking him there.
And they began their journey.
It quickly became a journey with complications and setbacks. They saved each other many times, but they were in turn saved by two extraordinary women: Sasha (Michelle Lissette), a real estate agent in New Orleans's posh Garden District, and her best friend, Lily Cup (Lily Cup Lorelei Tarleton), a criminal attorney.
Less than a year before the events in Mamma's Moon, Gabe and Peck wandered into Charlie's Blue Note, a small jazz bar in a side alley just off Frenchman Street, where the music was live and mellow and the dancing warm and sensual.
Here they encountered Sasha and Lily Cup, and amid the music, the dancing, the food, the flirting, and the cigar smoke, the four formed an unusual and lasting friendship that would see them each through a series of crises, disappointments, life-threatening situations, and moments of great joy and satisfaction.

Chapter 2 Good Morning, Murder
Bonjour, meurtre
​
Did you murder the kid, Gabe?” Lily Cup asked. The aging army captain, veteran of Korea and Vietnam, low ered his newspaper just enough to see over the entertainment page.
“Close the door, honey, AC’s on,” Gabe said.
In a tight, black skirt with a tailored matching waistcoat and white Nike walking shoes, she leaned and propped a black leather briefcase against the wall by the door. She stood like an exasperated tomboy, adjusting and refastening the diamond brooch on her lapel.
“I heard you’ve been walking with a cane, dancing man.  What’s that all about? You’ve never carried a cane. You jazz dance for hours a couple of nights a week and Sasha tells me you started carrying one everywhere you go when you don’t need one. It’s smelling pretty premeditated to me, Gabe. What’s up with the cane thing?”
“Does Sasha know about this morning?”
“I haven’t told her anything. She’d have a canary.”
Gabe lifted the paper again to read.
“I need to know if it was murder,” Lily Cup said.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Gabe said.
He closed the paper, folded it in half, and in half again. Dropping it on the arm of the chair, he stood and left the room.
“Define murder,” he said from the kitchen.
She tossed a handbag and white driving gloves onto the other chair, lifted Chanel sunglasses to the top of her head.
“Gee, I’ll have to think on this one. Hmmm…Oh, I know. How about the police have a cane with blood on it and there’s a dead man.”
“It’s a walking stick. My cane is over by the door.”
“Well now it’s a goddamned murder weapon. They checked for prints, and yours are the only prints on it, and their guess is the lab will say the blood has his DNA.”
Gabe came out with a coffee urn in one hand and his finger and thumb through two empty cup handles. He held the cups out for her to take one.
“No more,” Gabe said.
“You’re rather nonchalant for the spot you’re in. Why’d you clam up on me like that at the precinct? It didn’t set well with any of them. The DA entered a charge of second-degree murder. The police chief put out a warrant for you from lunch at Brennan’s.”
He held the empty cups closer to her.
“Just made it. Chicory and cinnamon.”
“If you had television you’d have seen it—‘Daylight killing on St. Charles Avenue.’ It’s all over the news, freaking out the DA and the Visitors Bureau. No telling how many videos from streetcars going by will wind up on You Tube.”
“That’s enough,” Gabe said.
“People can live with violence after dark. That’s expected in any city, but when it’s in broad daylight, forget it. The DA pushed for an early docket with a magistrate and it’s Tulane and Broad for you at nine a.m. tomorrow.”
“What’s Tulane and Broad?”
“Magistrate Court. Congratulations, Gabe, you made the big time. You have to appear before a magistrate to hear the second-degree murder charge against you.”
She took an empty cup in one hand, pinched his arm with the other.
“Look me in the eye and swear it wasn’t murder,” Lily Cup said.
“This some kind of technique they teach at Harvard Law, Miss Tarleton?”
She rolled her eyes and turned to the other chair.
“The only reason they haven’t busted down your door and you’re not behind bars is you’re a decorated veteran, and I’m your attorney, and I promised you’ll show up in the morning. Sasha warned me about you. I should have listened. You’re an ornery, stubborn old coot when you have a mind to.”
She sat down.
“I’m never ornery,” Gabe said. “But that’s enough.”
He leaned and poured coffee.
“You’re lucky we have Magistrate Judge Fontenot tomorrow. I heard her dad was killed in Vietnam. She’s been pretty fair to me in the past. A new school gal, tough on the letter of the law, but she’ll listen to reason if it solves a case. She hates red tape with a passion, and seldom lets the DA or the defense use the system for delays. She doesn’t get hung up on tradition.”
“Have you heard?” Gabe said. “Our Sasha has asked me to give her away. How about them apples?”
“Gabe, like she’s been my best friend since kindergarten, she tells me everything,” Lily Cup said. “It’s sweet.”
“I’m thinking Peck and I might throw a party,” Gabe said. “Something she’ll remember—commemorate their engagement Mardi Gras style. Lots of pictures; close friends.”
“Will you print invitations, like a formal do?” Lily Cup asked.
“But of course,” Gabe said. “Maybe costumes?”
“It’s party time! She would flip over a costume party, all our friends would,” Lily Cup said. “You and Peck celebrating her engage ment will mean a lot to her.”
“Should we do it here or over at Charlie’s Blue Note with the live jazz?”
“Gabe, you’ve got one picture on the mantle, two chairs, and a cardboard box in the living room. This isn’t exactly what I’d call a Commander’s Palace party room.”
“I was thinking a streetcar day pass in the invite if we do it here at the house,” Gabe said.
“That’s a nice idea—parking sucks on this street. When are you going to buy some furniture?”
“I’m too old to impose furniture on Peck. Peck would only feel obligated to keep it after I’m gone. I’ll let him and Millie pick out the furniture doodads, curtains, and the dishes when they play house. There’s time.”
“How’s your stomach with what happened today? Were you hurt?” Lily Cup said.
“What stomach? They removed it.”
“I meant how’ve you been since the operation?”
“I’m a hospice survivor with some time left in me, hopefully. At least enough time to plan a party.”
“You might be partying in Angola if the DA pushes this to a grand jury,” Lily Cup said.
Gabe stood, got the coffee urn again and brought it into the liv ing room.
“Warm your coffee?”
“Do you two at least have beds?” Lily Cup asked.
“Of course we have beds,” Gabe said. “Peck thinks he’s a prince— a mattress with sheets after sleeping on a canvas cot most of his life.”
“This must be a new world for him,” Lily Cup said.
“For fifteen years he slept in an unheated shed at a wood mill,” Gabe said. “Saw blades hanging over him like Macy’s parade bal loons. It took him weeks getting used to sleeping on a bed. I’d find him curled on the floor with his window wide open.”
“Peck and Millie,” Lily Cup said. “They do seem like a good fit, don’t they?”
“She’s loved the boy with a passion since the day he made the Greyhound bus stop so he could jump off just to give her the baby doll she left on her seat,” Gabe said.
“Her baby doll, Charlie. Sasha told me about the doll. Hell, I had my Teddy bear all through Harvard. I still have it,” Lily Cup said.
“Millie does love her Charlie,” Gabe said.
“Does she like the house?”
“That girl loves New Orleans. It’s a completely different world for her from the strict Baptist home life in Tennessee and Baylor University. But hell, the girl would love Milwaukee if Peck were there. Her mom and dad love Peck. I’m not certain Millie’s had a good look at the house the few times she’s come on her school breaks. She hits the door, pauses just long enough to hug ole Gabe here a genuine hello and a kiss on the cheek, then she’ll grab Peck’s arm like it’s an empty egg basket handle, close his bedroom door behind them and climb his bones until he comes out peaked, steps on the porch for some air and goes back in for another round.”
“Whoa, now that takes me back,” Lily Cup said. “I can remember those wild younger days of reckless abandon.”
She sipped her coffee, smiling.
“Innocent times,” Gabe said.
“They weren’t so innocent,” Lily Cup said.
“Oh?”
“I remember after school sometimes; Sasha and I’d be feeling randy and we’d corner us a couple of momma’s boys we thought showed promise. We’d sneak into one of those back storage rooms on Magazine Street and wear them out.”
“Lord help ’em,” Gabe said. “Impetuous youth.”
“We had perfect lures. Sasha was the first in our grade to wear a D cup bra,” Lily Cup said.
“Her girls,” Gabe said.
“They were magnets for high school bad boys dying for a peek,” Lily Cup said. “The bigger her girls, the ‘badder’ the boys.”
“Youth,” Gabe said.
“We developed our fancies,” Lily Cup said. “Hers was arousing a dude and putting his condom on him. She’d ride it like a sailor on a rowboat—the boy gawking up at her girls in her Victoria Secret bra she saved her allowance for. She’d never take it off. She’d say a boy appreciates a cleavage—why spoil the fantasy?”
“And you?”
“Let’s just say I developed a liking for the feel of a firm cigar.”
“Ha!” Gabe guffawed. “Is that why you smoke those short Panatelas?”
“Over the years I’ve learned to keep my expectations low.”
“Youth is uncouth,” Gabe said. “At least you’re sophisticated and couth now, little lady.”
“Too couth. I like to get mussed up on occasion.”
“You’re an attractive woman. It’ll happen.”
“She’s talking about the wedding reception maybe being at Charlie’s Blue Note,” Lily Cup said.
“If that’s true, I’m surprised James hasn’t put up a scuff,” Gabe said. “A jazz joint in an alley off Frenchmen Street isn’t what I’d call his cup of tea.”
“I think the house would be best for the engagement party, fixed up a little. I’ll help,” Lily Cup said.
“It would be more personal here,” Gabe said.
“I think so,” Lily Cup said. “This is like home to her.”
“I’ll have Peck paint the porch ceiling,” Gabe said.
Lily Cup stood, coffee cup in hand. She walked to the door look ing out at the porch’s ceiling.
“Why?” she asked.
“I’m changing the sky–blue to another color, maybe a white.”
“It looks freshly painted.”
“It’s a tradition thing,” Gabe said.
“What tradition?”
“A lady at the library told me a sky–blue ceiling on a front porch signals an available woman–of–age living in the house.”
“That’s phooey,” Lily Cup said. “I heard that one and three others like it. Like sky–blue wards off spiders and attracts bees away from people sitting on porch swings. I wouldn’t bother painting it.”
“I’m a Chicago boy—what would I know from superstitions?”

MINE TO PROTECT
Author: Kennedy L. Mitchell
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: April 8, 2019

Recruited to the FBI Cas Mathews has one focus – catch the killer. That’s until officer Alta Johnson shoves her way on to the team, making him fantasize about the delicious curves she hides beneath her park ranger uniform. Alta’s natural beauty catches his immediate attention, but the strength behind her fierce gaze is what holds him captive – demanding he learns more about her.
 
As the team grows close, the serial killer shifts focus putting them all in danger. Cas should walk away before their sizzling attraction distracts him and gets them both killed. But as the threat pushes Cas and Alta closer, the temptation turns too hot for either to resist.
 
With their focus diverted the threat zeroes in, catching everyone off guard. Figuring out the players in the killer’s cat and mouse game is key to Alta’s survival. Cas swore he would protect her but with the clues carefully hidden, can he figure it out before Alta disappears for good?
 
Mine to Protect is a standalone, romantic thriller novel based in the beautiful mountains of the Rocky Mountain National Park.

“Stay away from me, Lady.”

Her eyes met mine, daring her to push back. “What? I didn’t mean—”

“I’m not the man you think I am. I’m an asshole with more control issues than they can diagnose. I’m not a nice guy.”

“But I’m safe,” she whispered in a voice so fragile, it chipped at my resolve to stay away for her sake.

Fuck, that weak voice cracked every restraint I had. All she wanted to be was safe, and that was the one thing I could offer. “No one—I repeat, no one will touch you while I’m here. That is a fact you shouldn’t question.”

Her tight shoulders dropped, her lips parted in a relieved sigh. There was trust there, trust I hadn’t earned yet, but still she gave it—to me, a nobody.

Fuck it.

Narrowing my eyes, I crouched directly in front of her, inching closer until her back pressed against the brick hearth. Inches from her nose, I inhaled each of her shaky breaths, savoring the heated fear that pulsed off her as her eyes darkened with lust. She needed to be scared of me, to run in the opposite direction.

Still I dared another inch closer, hoping she’d push me off, praying she wouldn’t.

I slid a hand around the hot skin of her delicate neck.

“I don’t know how to be gentle, Lady,” I growled.

Her breath hitched at the minuscule squeeze of my fingers around her throat.

“What if I don’t want gentle?” she breathed.

“What do you want?”
​
Light brown brows pulled together in thought, but her hazel eyes stayed locked with mine. “You.”

​

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She was off limits. 

Eric Wilde has always known that Piper Lane isn’t for him. She is his younger brother’s best friend…and probably more. But that hasn’t stopped Eric from wanting her. For longing for the one woman that he can’t have. Sure, he’s rich, successful—he’s built a security empire, and he’s got the world at his feet. Only he doesn’t have her. 

He is the one man she needs the most. 

Free-spirited Piper Lane has always considered Eric to be the enemy. He’s seemed to resent her, and the guy just flat-out makes her nervous. Every time she’s around him, she winds up doing something horribly embarrassing. But, this time…everything has changed. This time, he’s the one man she needs the most. 

Something is stalking Piper. 

A stranger has broken into Piper’s home twice, and she feels like someone is following her. Watching her every move. She needs a professional to help her—so enter Eric Wilde. He promises her protection, he promises to put his best investigators on her case, and he even moves her into his house. Suddenly, the guy who has always been the villain in her life…he’s now playing the role of hero. 

Everything will change as the danger mounts. 

And maybe Eric isn’t so bad, after all. The more time that Piper spends with him, the more she realizes that her feelings for Eric are far more complicated that she ever imagined. Desire explodes between them even as the danger deepens around her. Someone in the dark is targeting Piper, and he is determined that if he can’t possess her…then he will destroy her.

The double-layered intensity of the story had me all twisted and on pins and needles as I binge-read Eric and Piper's story. I absolutely adored this tale and the fact that the author was able to change my opinion of the hero as the story progressed. 
Eric is an alpha man to the point of being stubborn, boorish at times, could seem like a bully if not looking a bit more deeply into the tale. In the beginning, I had my eyebrows lifted and ready to pounce on him for real until he started to truly communicate with Piper - and with his brother Ben - when he was able to form sentences and have conversations instead of just claiming Piper as 'his'. He turned out to be an adorable, loving, sexy beast, that completely won me over, the last tipping point towards the end of the book, a conversation he has with Ben. 
Piper is no shrinking violet either. She is a strong, capable, successful woman who has built her own prosperity. She might have had less when growing up, yet that had not held her back when pursuing her dreams. She is capable to defend herself, she is able to hold her own, yet with this secret stalker, she is going to need all the help she can get, cause the culprit is out for blood.
The connection between Piper and Eric has been developing in the shadow of his brother, Ben's friendship with her. Yet there is a unique history, a tight bond between Piper and Eric, that is revealed as the story unfolds. 
And the chemistry between Eric and Piper - oh wow. I knew Cynthia Eden can write some steaming love scenes, yet Piper and Eric - they set the bar up high on the smoking hot loving. 
But Protecting Piper is not just a hot love story, there is an element of creepy stalker who is out to get Piper and everyone close to her. When part of a story is told from the culprit's point of view, I often get that dreadfully morbid, completely freaked out feeling, like only great suspense brings to you. And this stalker is escalating quickly while making people in Piper's life look quilty. Talking about intense, gory scenes... 
An ardent love story, combustible and filled with feels, in the middle of a frantic search of a prowler escalating into a savage killer. 
Steamy, danger-filled romantic suspense just the way I love it...
~ Five Spoons

CHASING VENGEANCE
Author: Katie Reus
Series: Redemption Harbor
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: April 9, 2019

​

From USA Today bestselling author Katie Reus comes the final story in the explosive Redemption Harbor series where sparks fly and so do bullets…

Wanting her means putting a target on her back…

Layla’s taste in men runs toward the epic side of awful. With one murderous ex-fiancé already behind her, she’s attempting to start over in Redemption Harbor with the help of her bestie, Nova. And wine. Lots of wine. The very thing that helps her make another epic mistake—trying to kiss Xavier, one of her newest friends. So what if he’s sexy, funny, and has completely taken over her fantasies? Relationships and Layla don’t mix. And Xavier is clearly not interested anyway.

But it’s too late to walk away…

Any good hitman has no business forging a personal life…no matter how great the temptation. And Xavier is an exceptionally good hitman, with a long list of enemies. Even if Layla could somehow look past his profession, he’d never put her in jeopardy. But everyone has their breaking point—and when Layla accepts a date with someone else, Xavier’s possessiveness is unleashed. The greater the risk, the sweeter the reward…until Xavier’s sweet Layla is used against him by someone from his past. Now he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her from the enemy hunting her from the shadows.

From New York Times bestselling author Kylie Scott comes
REPEAT, a sexy, standalone contemporary romance!
​REPEAT is now available! Grab your copy today!

​Pavement turns into cobblestones and there’s a more touristy feel to the shops in Old Port. Lots of beautiful, over-a-century-old brick buildings. I’m almost tempted by a waterfront lobster place, but continue on, looking for Vito’s—the Italian restaurant Ed recommended I try. 
And I’m glad I did. It smells amazing and has heavy wooden tables and dark red napkins, silver cutlery glinting in the low light. There are plenty of shadowy nooks and atmosphere aplenty, despite the crowd.
Just when I think I’m going to get turned away, the maître d’ smiles, obviously recognizing me on sight, and leads me to the only available table.
I feel comfortable here. Maybe it’s the warm welcome. Or maybe some part of me deep down recognizes this place. Unlike the froufrou clothing, Vito’s still fits. Though I should probably dress up more next time. Black yoga pants and a T-shirt is a bit slummy.
“Clem?” asks a familiar deep voice. 
I raise my eyes from the menu to find Ed staring down at me. He looks good. But then, he always does. More dressed up than normal in gray slacks and a white button-down shirt with his hair slicked back. God, he’s so handsome and smooth looking, like a movie star out of an old black and white movie. Just behind him is a woman with wavy shoulder-length dark hair. She’s beautiful too. Of course she is. They make a great looking couple, dammit.
Meanwhile, the maître d’ stands nearby, visibly flustered. “I’m so sorry. I just assumed . . . ”
“Shit,” I say, realization dawning. “This is your table.”
Ed clears his throat. “Yeah.” 
“Awkward. Okay.” I slide out of the chair, grabbing my usual bag with money, cell, and book inside. God. The brunette is dressed in a sexy off-the-shoulder number and I look like crap. “What a coincidence, huh? Enjoy your meal.”
And I’m out of there, pronto. Not even the cooler air outside can take the heat out of my face. It’s just as well that I’m wearing sneakers and not heels. Otherwise, there would be no chance of moving fast on the cobblestone streets. The usual ache/awkwardness caused by the thought of Ed escalates into an agonizing kind of pain. I think I’m having a heart attack. Or maybe my heart just hurts. Which makes no sense at all because he’s not mine. Not in any way, shape, or form. The man doesn’t even like me. And I definitely don’t enjoy the riot of feelings he inspires. 
“Clem, wait!” Ed runs after me, his expression tense. “Are you all right?” 
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” 
He just looks at me.
“That was unfortunate, them thinking we were still together and meeting for dinner. I mean, what were the chances of me turning up here tonight?” I babble, staring at his shoes. Much easier than meeting his face.
“Random,” he says. 
“It’s just that you told me to try this restaurant and I was in the area, so . . . ”
“Yeah? What were you doing?” 
“Taking a self-defense class.” 
“Good. That’s good.” 
I cross my arms over my chest. Only it feels defensive, best to just let them hang at my sides. He’s freshly shaved, the strong line of his jaw dramatic in the low lighting. All of the planes and angles of his face are so perfect. Also, he smells incredibly good. Probably some expensive cologne or just his general coolness leaking from his pores. I don’t know. But at such a close distance, I can almost believe the emotion in his eyes is something other than annoyance or pity.
“Anyway,” I say, taking a deep breath. “You should get back. I guess I’ll try the place another time. Make my own reservation next time.” 
“It was always your favorite.”
That stops me. “You’re taking your date to my favorite restaurant?” 
“I happen to like the place too.” Lines crease his brow. “What, we need to divvy up the town now?” 
“No, just . . . my favorite? Really? Isn’t it weird, going somewhere we made memories?” I raise the corner of my lips in distaste. “Obviously not, or you wouldn’t be here with her and this wouldn’t have just happened. Never mind.”
Now the lines have spread to beside his beautiful eyes.
“Though maybe that’s the point, you want to overwrite everything we did together. Make newer and better memories.”
“You know, maybe I do.”
“Fantastic. Awesome. Best of luck with that.” My voice rises in volume. “I hope she’s everything for you that I never could be. A paragon of female worthiness. A lady on the streets, a wildcat between the sheets, and all that shit.”
A couple passes by, darting looks at us. Fair enough.
“And I’m yelling at you on street corners now like a deranged person. Great.”
“Please continue, Clem,” he bites out. “I for one am enjoying the hell out of all this honesty for once.”
“Oh, fuck off back to your date, Ed.”
His shoulders rise on an exceptionally heavy sigh and honest to God, I feel exactly the same way. Apparently this city isn’t big enough for both my ex and me. Not tonight, at least. I might have forgotten the initial breakup. But we were sure making up for the loss of those memories now. And I barely even know the guy. It shouldn’t have mattered where he went, let alone with whom. It shouldn’t hurt. Empty was so much safer.
“I don’t want to yell at you. I don’t want to be this person. Give my love to Gordon,” I say, sounding much calmer than I feel. “Hope you have a nice night.”
“Clem . . . ”
I don’t stop walking and I don’t turn back. 

"A page-turning romantic feast that will have you desperate for more. I was immediately hooked."
—#1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken
 
"Kylie Scott has long been one of my favorite authors, and oh, did she crush it with Repeat! I loved every page. Witty, swoony, sexy romance weaved in a mystery that will have you hooked. This one goes to the top of my 2019 favorite reads."
​—A.L. Jackson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

"This book. You need this book. Repeat is everything I wanted in a romance. I was not expecting the delicious intensity, the amazing heroine, the delicious hero, and the banter only Kylie Scott can write. This book is pure magic."
—L.J. Shen, USA Today bestselling author

"Kylie Scott's vivid characters, amazing writing, and a plot to keep you glued to the pages makes Repeat a must read!"
​—Donna Grant, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author

 
BUY ON AUDIBLE NOW 

When hope is lost, truth is blurred, and your life is on the line, 
it’s time to call in the Guardian Agency... 

From the privacy of her home office, computer genius Claudia Mitchell offers technical assistance for the bodyguards of the Guardian Agency. Whatever a protector needs, Claudia taps a few keys and makes it happen. When she receives a desperate call from her sister, Claudia can’t use cyberspace or assets to save her. For this case, Claudia has to take the lead. Afraid her secrets will jeopardize her perfect job, she reaches out to Hank Patterson’s Brotherhood Protectors for backup. 

Nathan Jennings showed the world what being a hero looked like despite serving time in prison. His selfless actions earned him a place as a protector on the Guardian Agency team. Practically since day one, he’s fantasized about his tech assistant, Claudia, the woman with the sexy voice, quick wit, and razor-sharp mind. When she suddenly disappears and he is tasked with finding and protecting her, will his fantasy finally come true?

When coming to her old hometown to help her always-in-the-middle-of-drama younger sister turns out to be much more than the IT-support genius Claudia Mitchell bargained for, she will need all the help she can get to survive, no matter how much Claudia wanted to just fix the latest problem with her sister by herself. 
Not only are the painful childhood memories overtaxing her mind, but the attraction to the smooth-talking Nathan Jennings is stronger than she was prepared for. All Claudia wants is to fix the problem and never return but life rarely delivers what we want. 
For a novella length story, the author has managed to deliver a well-developed tale with character development and exhilarating action. 
The connection between Claudia and Nathan is palpable. The bantering dialog is fun, and the attraction that initially was only over the phone now gets new dimensions in up close and personal relations in a small cabin, in the middle of the Snowmageddon. 
While their lives are threatened and there is no guarantee none of them will survive, Claudia and Nathan are drawn to each other and desperately fighting against it and the possible consequences of their actions. 
I enjoyed the story and the intriguing puzzle of the kidnapping and possible terrorist operation happening right there in a backyard of Claudia's childhood home. The action is fierce and fast, the tension is tangible, and the threat is real, setting the reader on the edge for most of the story, delivering an entertaining, twisted, vehement tale of fervent suspense and ardent romance
~ Four Spoons with a teaspoon on the side

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As the start of a new multi-author series, Justice Mission introduced the world of the K-9 unit in New York City, delivering intense suspense and action, paired with emotional scenes, danger, even death, and a touch of romance on the side as well as adorable, caring canine companions. 
The Love Inspired romantic suspense books have the three major elements that are expected to be present in each story: the suspense, the romance, and the faith in God the protagonist have. Some stories lay more heavily on one element than the other, and in some books, like in Justice Mission, the faith was more of an assumed part of the characters lives.
The suspense and mystery, the action that the investigation brought on, is vigorous, engaging the minds of the members of the unit, as well as mine, as the reader. The missing leader of the unit, and the family connections he had within the force, and in his personal life, as well as the threat to his assistant, Sophie Walters, brought sentimental, emotion-filled moments into the midst of the research into his disappearance. The case is not solved in this book, even though the immediate danger to Sophie is sorted out. 
There are many tears throughout the tale while the unit is desperately looking for answers, but the funeral scene for a fallen cop had me sopping uncontrollably, as each vivid moments, with all the feels, were tangible in the air. The final call at the end of the service left an echo into my mind and heart, just a devastatingly sad yet honorable moment that will be hard to forget or walk away from.
I wish the chemistry between Sophie and  NYPD officer Luke Hathaway would have been as palpable. They have an obvious connection, it is clear that they care for each other, and even that they are interested in each other, but the maudlin atmosphere of the investigation overpowers nearly everything else in the tale as the stage for the rest of the series is set. 
I did enjoy getting to know everyone, and Sophie and Luke especially. They both have to do some soul searching to be able to open up for a relationship, and especially Luke's pondering was well documented while he fights against the budding attraction to a much younger (nine years, a problem to him, not to me) woman. 
Justice Mission whet my appetite to the rest of the series that will keep unfolding each month for the rest of the year. The characters are intriguing, the interactions between them are arresting, and I am looking forward to getting to know them all better. The story is filled with emotions, from tangible fear and danger, sorrow and despair, to hope and love, and of course,  spiced up with adorable canines from working K-9 four-legged officers to delightful puppies. 
An effectively engaging and appealing start of a series filled with potent, deadly danger and harsh, rough action
~ Four Spoons with a teaspoon on the side 

Three years ago, Alex Fisher lost her husband and since then, she hasn’t been able to find her stride. She’s out of a job, out of time, and running on fumes. When she receives a personal invitation to visit the picturesque town of Granite Harbor, Maine, she jumps at the chance to start fresh. 

For game warden Eli Young, life is simpler when he’s exploring the back roads of Maine. In the north woods, he doesn’t have to deal with town politics or his soon-to-be ex-wife. But a chance meeting with a brokenhearted newcomer leaves him tangled. He should walk away—except, now that he’s met her, he can’t turn back.
When a young woman goes missing in town, tensions rise, and everyone becomes a suspect. Eli doesn’t think things can get any more complicated…until a picture of Alex is discovered at a gruesome crime scene. 

In a town where trust is hard to come by and ghosts from the past haunt its citizens in the broad light of day, the question isn’t whether Eli and Alex can save what’s left of their hearts…but whether they’ll live to see tomorrow.

J. Lynn is a bestselling author who hates to talk about herself. Loathes it.
More importantly, she's the mother of two beautiful children and a wife to her high school sweetheart. She's also a mother of two extremely needy cats, Leo and Vinni, and an Australian Shepherd named Grizz.  

She lives with her family in a small town tucked away in the redwood forest, located on California's northern coast.

Today we have the blog tour for Lea Coll’s MS. BAKER, the second standalone book in the Eastern Shore series. Check it out and be sure to grab your copy today!

Title: Ms. Baker
Author: Lea Coll
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Friends to Lovers

Jack shook his head. “You should let me help you with the booth at the market—at least to set-up and break-down.”

Jack’s offer was sweet, but I didn’t feel right taking him up on it. Jack had always looked out for me, but I wanted to do things on my own. I wanted him to see me as an independent woman, not someone constantly needing his help. I shook my head. “Oh, no. I couldn’t ask you to do that. You help your dad at the marina and you volunteer here already.”

Jack stood a little taller, and said softly, “You’re no slouch either.” His eyes were on mine as he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

My breath hitched at his unexpected touch. It was intimate. I couldn’t ignore or blow it off as friendly. I was starting to crave his touch and attention.

Jack’s hand hovered by my hair as if he noticed my reaction. “Can I walk with you? I should probably head over to the marina.”
​
I nodded, not trusting my voice to speak.

​

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Read Ms. Lawyer, Book 1 in the Eastern Shore Series:

Dying on Edisto
The Edisto Island Mysteries Book 5
by C. Hope Clark
Genre: Cozy Mystery
​

One death. Two detectives. And unexpected backup.

A Callie Morgan and Carolina Slade crossover! (A standalone mystery)

When a renowned—and now dead—travel blogger washes ashore on the banks of Indigo Plantation, Police Chief Callie Morgan of Edisto Beach agrees to head the investigation as a favor to the county sheriff, whose reasons are as questionable as the death itself.
When death turns to murder and a watchdog from the county makes her investigation difficult, Callie reluctantly turns to Carolina Slade and Wayne Largo, vacationing agents with the Department of Agriculture. Because poison is growing on this plantation, and someone knows how to use it well.

"Page-turning...[and] edge-of-your-seat action...crisp writing and compelling storytelling. This is one you don't want to miss!" —Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author
​
"Her beloved protagonist, Callie, continues to delight readers as a strong, savvy, and a wee-bit-snarky police chief.”—Julie Cantrell, NY Times and USA Today bestselling author

​

Prologue

Slade

BODIES WEREN’T foreign to me, but they weren’t commonplace either.

Trying to keep my feet out of the water, I stooped over, not too much, to study the corpse floating face down about three feet away. The ears were chewed on by some kind of creature. A denim shirt clung to a pudgy back, and the torso gently rocked though no boat stirred the South Edisto River.

The last body I’d discovered in Newberry, my most recent major case, made me vomit my breakfast burrito, and if I hadn’t skipped lunch today, I’d have upchucked here, too.

We were supposed to be on vacation. Or rather, I’d been ordered by my boss to take a vacation.

“Go take basket weaving or something,” he’d said, his way of telling me to get out of his hair for a while and quit finding investigations where there were none. Sorry, but when I thought there was a case, there usually was a case. My record proved it. He sort of pissed me off.

So I’d Googled basket weaving and South Carolina Lowcountry, and made reservations for a week at Indigo Plantation. I was from this piece of the state, and revisiting would be nice. Plus, I planned to make the biggest, gaudiest basket in the world, and set the damn thing on his desk when I returned.

Patiently, Wayne had stood guard on dry land, while I searched for the right grass for a basket, along the edge of the river. But as I waded calf deep in the water, a heavy something bumped me from behind.

Imagining a gator, I screamed, teetered, and fell, making the lawman come running.

Wayne saw the body before I did. “Don’t touch it, Slade!” he’d yelled.

From sitting waist deep in brackish water, slick mud under my butt, I scrambled like a crab at surf’s edge, putting distance between me and the dead man. “It touched me first,” I yelled back.

Gently but quickly, he rolled the man over and checked for a pulse.  

I’m sure my eyes rolled. Skin color and missing eyelids told us what we needed. I couldn’t stop staring though I was sure I’d regret it in my dreams.

“Stay here and guard the scene,” Wayne said, in his federal agent voice, the boyfriend in him gone. “Don’t disturb anything. And don’t let anyone else disturb anything.”
​
Then off he waded to shore and left me. Just like that. Before I could ask what to do if the body tried to float off.

​

A gripping thriller about three young girlfriends, a dark obsession and a chilling crime that shakes up a quiet Iowa town, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence .

For twelve-year-old Cora Landry and her friends Violet and Jordyn, it was supposed to be an ordinary sleepover--movies and Ouija and talking about boys. But when they decide to sneak out to go to the abandoned rail yard on the outskirts of town, little do they know that their innocent games will have dangerous consequences.

Later that night, Cora Landry is discovered on the tracks, bloody and clinging to life, her friends nowhere to be found. Soon their small rural town is thrust into a maelstrom. Who would want to hurt a young girl like Cora--and why? In an investigation that leaves no stone unturned, everyone is a suspect and no one can be trusted--not even those closest to Cora.

Before She Was Found is a timely and gripping thriller about friendship and betrayal, about the power of social pressure and the price of needing to fit in. It is about the great lengths a parent will go to protect their child and keep them safe--even if that means burying the truth, no matter the cost.

I’m afraid of what I might find once we reach the police cars or ambulances. I strain to see if I can hear the sirens, even roll down the window, but all I can hear is the rumble of the car’s engine and the creak of branches rubbing against each other as we drive down Main.

Sam slows to crawl as he crosses the railroad tracks but still the car bounces and pitches as it rolls over the uneven iron rails. I expect Sam to make a left on Depot, a street that runs parallel to the tracks, but he keeps going. Once over the tracks we pass the bank and the tiny grocery store, and then three blocks filled with single-family homes.

I glance down Juneberry, the street where Violet is spending the night at her best friend’s house. Cora Landry invited Violet over so they could spend their free day off school together tomorrow. I breathe a sigh of relief. No ambulances down that way.

Pitch ends suddenly as if the town’s forefathers somehow knew that it would never really grow into the buzzing railroad town originally planned. Main Street turns into a country highway, treeless and lined with deep ditches and acres of farmland now hidden by the black night. The road dips and winds and gradually rises and I turn in my seat to look out the rear window. From here I can see Pitch below us.

“There,” I say, grabbing at Sam’s arm. On the western edge of Pitch right along the railroad tracks and the old millwork district I see the rhythmic swirling of red lights. Sam knew exactly what he was doing coming up here.

Without slowing down, he makes a U-turn and I clutch at the dash to keep myself from sliding across the seat. There is no train in sight. Surely if there was an accident with one of the freight trains that runs through Pitch four times a day, it would have stopped. Unless, of course, the engineer didn’t know that he hit someone. Sam pulls off to the side of the road and punches the hazards with one finger.

“Try and call Max again,” he says and I lift the phone to my ear and this time it goes right to voice mail. “Do you want to go down there?” he asks.

Apprehension, thick as mud, fills my chest. I’ve always known I would never have much money, never have a big house to live in, never have some great job, probably never get married again. And because I’ve expected so little I don’t think I’m asking too much that my kids stay safe. God and I have always had a complicated relationship, but I never held anything against Him. But if something bad happened to Max or Violet all bets are off. I don’t want to find out what’s going on down there. I will my phone to vibrate, but it stays still.

“Go,” I finally say. I’m guessing that we won’t get very close to the scene, anyway, but I have to do whatever I can to find out what’s going on. Sam pulls back onto the highway and he speeds toward the train yard. He doesn’t have to worry about getting pulled over. It looks like every police officer and sheriff’s deputy in Johnson County is parked down there.

In less than three minutes Sam manages to park just a block away from where all the emergency vehicles have converged. Two sheriff’s cars and the police chief’s SUV barricade the only entrance into the train yard where the depot is boarded up and empty boxcars, abandoned years ago, sit. An ambulance is parked a bit off to the side facing the road ready to leave in a hurry. A deputy strides toward us as we approach. He’s young. Tall and broad across the shoulders. His eyes dart left and right as if on the lookout for something or someone. He looks scared. Ill.
“You can’t be here, folks,” he says, trying to usher us back toward the car.

“We heard the sirens, saw the lights,” Sam explains. “What happened? Is everyone okay?”

“Sorry, you can’t be here,” the officer says again. Behind him someone turns on their headlights and the darkened train yard suddenly comes into view to reveal a flurry of activity. A woman wearing running tights and tennis shoes is talking to another officer. With hands tucked inside the sleeves of her sweatshirt she gestures toward the tracks and then rubs at her eyes, leaving behind a streak of red across her face.

“Is that blood?” I ask louder than I intend. Hearing me, the woman looks down at her hands and cries out.

“Ma’am,” the young officer says more sternly, “you need to leave this area.” This is when I see the EMTs come toward us carrying a stretcher to the ambulance. A small body is strapped securely to the stretcher. My breath lodges in my throat. She is shaped like my Violet. Thin with long dark hair that could belong to Violet, too, but the child’s face is nearly unrecognizable. Bloody, swollen, grotesque.

I try to push pass the officer but he steps in front of me and I bounce against his solid form and stumble backward. Sam is quicker than I am and skirts past the cop to get a better look.

“It’s okay, I don’t think it’s Violet,” he calls back to me.

“Are you sure?” I say, wanting so badly to believe him, but Sam hasn’t met my kids yet—how would he know?

“What color is Violet’s hair?” he asks.

“Black.” My heart pounds wildly.

“Then it’s not her. This girl has lighter hair.” I want to cry in relief.

From my spot on the hard-packed dirt I can now see it isn’t Violet. The girl’s ears do not belong to my daughter. The hair I thought at first glance was Violet’s isn’t naturally dark but slick and blackened with blood. This child looks a bit thinner than Violet. Still…there is something familiar about her, but it can’t be. It doesn’t make sense.

Sam comes back to my side and helps me to my feet. My stomach churns. What has happened to this little girl? What could cause this kind of damage? Not a car accident; there are no other vehicles besides the ambulance and the police cars. A fall from a bike? She’s deathly still and I wonder if she’s breathing. She looks like she could have been mauled by a dog or some other large animal. A flap of skin hangs loosely from her cheek and blood bubbles from her lips.

The EMTs lift her into the ambulance and are quickly on their way and the scream of the siren once again shatters the late-night quiet. I watch as it speeds away, the tires kicking up clouds of dust, and wonder how they are going to find out who the injured girl is. I’m just getting ready to ask the cop this question when I realize that everyone else is looking back toward the railroad tracks.

Another small silhouette appears. This time on foot, emerging from the tall winter wheat that fills the field on just the other side of the tracks.

Again my heart nearly stops.

It’s Violet.

She is moving toward us as if in slow motion. Eyes unfocused, unseeing. The front of her white T-shirt blooms red. Her hands look like they’ve been steeped in blood. Something tumbles from her fingers and lands on the dirt at her feet.

“Oh, my God,” I breathe. “She’s bleeding! Call another ambulance!”

It feels like forever until I finally reach her. I sweep her up in my arms and run my eyes over her, searching for the source of all the blood. “Help her!” I cry, laying her gently on the ground. “Please,” I plead. “What happened?” I ask Violet. “Who did this?”
​
Suddenly I know exactly who the other girl is. Violet’s best friend, Cora Landry. I feel arms pulling me backward and hear Sam telling me to let them do their work. Violet’s lips move but I can’t quite make out what she says.

​

FOLLOW THE EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT TOUR:
​
Monday, April 1st: The Lit Bitch
Tuesday, April 2nd: Lindsey Reads and Reviews
Wednesday, April 3rd: Jessicamap Reviews
Thursday, April 4th: Amy’s Book-et List
Friday, April 5th: Books & Spoons
Monday, April 8th: Book Reviews and More by Kathy
Tuesday, April 9th: What is That Book About
Wednesday, April 10th: Bookish Connoisseur
Thursday, April 11th: Thoughts on This ‘n That
Friday, April 12th: Lori’s Reading Corner

I absolutely adore faulty, awkward characters in the stories because they are so easy to relate to, to find the common ground with them, to understand their predicaments. And Levi Tucker and Faith Grayson deliver as the faulty and awkward protagonists, tenfold. 
I can only imagine the amount of anger, disappointment, hate, and need for revenge that is churning inside Levi. Yet all those negative thoughts are very focused on their target, and he does not take it out on just any passerby. With all the hate and anger, there was also kindness, sweetness, tenderness, and decency in Levi that made me fall for him completely. I loved how he was with Faith. How their attraction was stronger than his years built self-control, how the feelings he had for her were stronger than the build-up need for the vengeance. 
Faith had lived a sheltered life, by the busy life brought on by her early success and super smarts, as well as the overly protective older brothers who stood like a wall surrounding her from the world and from all the possible disappointments and hurt. 
Together, with the burning passion in between them, these two didn't only fly free, they soared through the atmosphere with the ardent adoration and deep understanding they had for each other. 
The depth of their emotion - and the deep conversation on the topic - floored me with all the feels. I loved Levi and Faith together, and the connection they shared. I loved the world the author created around them, telling a story that was riddled with familiarity to readers following the series yet a tale that could be a great way to get to know the author's style if a new-to-her reader. The story is shorter in length, yet a great sample of the Copper Ridge series.
A tale of redemption, resurrection, and the power of love, where family, passion, and the yearning for more set the foundation but it is the love that sets them free of the chains of past. 
~ Four Spoons with a teaspoon on the side 

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit. In 2009, at the age of twenty-three Maisey sold her first book. 

Since then it’s been a whirlwind of sexy alpha males and happily ever afters, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Maisey divides her writing time between dark, passionate category romances set just about everywhere on earth and light sexy contemporary romances set practically in her back yard. 
She believes that she clearly has the best job in the world

Better Than Me, an all-new steamy friends to lovers romance from
USA Today bestselling author Kimberly Kincaid,
​is coming May 7th, and we have the stunning cover for you!

What happens when Remington’s most notoriously single, notoriously sexy surgeon falls for the one woman he can’t have? Did I mention that she’s A) his best friend, B) immune to his charm, and C) sleeping on his couch for the next six weeks?

Familiarity breeds temptation for Jonah Sheridan and Natalie Kendrick in this steamy friends-to-lovers medical contemporary romance. While part of the Remington Medical world, this book is a complete standalone and can be read as your first Kimberly Kincaid novel, or your twentieth. No cliffhangers, no spoilers, all red-hot HEA!