Category: Contemporary Romance

Finn by Melody Anne

Posted October 9, 2019 by Marsha in Connection to another series, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Finn Anderson is a loyal military veteran who has no desire to live a life of luxury and ease, but sometimes a person doesn’t get a choice. His life is flipped upside down when he and his four brothers learn they’re long-lost relatives of the absurdly famous and wealthy Joseph Anderson. The eccentric but generous billionaire puts the brothers to work building a new veterans center, and that’s not all: Joseph won’t stop until each nephew finds love.

Finn has never expected or wanted an easy life, and he struggles with his early retirement from the elite SEAL team. But when a very confident Brooke Garrison literally sweeps him off his feet during a self-defense class he’s teaching, he thinks less about his past and more about a brand-new future.

If Finn knows anything for certain, it’s that he can’t let this woman get away. Though Brooke is tough and compassionate, the loss of her brother has left her vulnerable. She isn’t sure she can risk loving and losing another person in her life, including a very determined ex-SEAL. Can the two of them look beyond their past wounds and embrace what they’re feeling?

Titles in the Anderson Billionaires series include — Finn – Noah –

This series is part of the larger set of connected series about the branches of the Anderson family – to see a list of titles and series please visit our Melody Anne page.

Holidays in Manhattan by Jennifer Gracen

Posted October 8, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, Series, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments

They didn’t believe in holiday magic… until it happens to them.

Anna McKinnon is a free spirit. As a bartender in New York City, she answers to no one, keeps what she calls “vampire hours” – and likes it that way. She secretly wishes to find real love, the forever kind her brothers have all found. But love has not only eluded her, but it’s also burned her badly. Keeping things light is how Anna copes.

David Beren is a high-powered, intense investment banker in the heart of Manhattan. His 80-hour workweeks took over his life long ago, but now, at 35, he’s ready for something more. But what? And then he meets Anna. She’s unexpected – full of light, color, and laughter. Anna knocks him off his game and his feet, and he’s never been happier.

Can total opposites – a feisty, bold girl from Ireland and a quiet, straight-laced Jewish guy from New Jersey – find love at the holidays? With the double whammy of a Hanukkah miracle and some Christmas magic, they just might.

Titles in The McKinnon Brothers series include – All I Want For Christmas – A Doctor’s Love – Marrying His Best Friend – Love In Dublin – Holidays in Manhattan

The Cliff House by RayAnne Thayne

Posted October 8, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Series, Women's Fiction / 0 Comments

Three women—two sisters and their aunt—and the cliff house on the northern California coast that served as a beacon to them all…

After the death of their mother, sisters Daisy and Beatriz Davenport found a home with their aunt Stella in the beautiful and welcoming town of Cape Sanctuary. They never knew all the dreams that Stella sacrificed to ensure they had everything they’d ever need. Now, with Daisy and Bea grown up, it’s time for Stella to reveal the secret she’s been keeping from them—a secret that will change their family forever.

Bea thought she’d sown all her wild oats when she got pregnant far too young. The marriage that followed was rocky and not destined to last, but it gave Bea her wonderful, mature, now eleven-year-old daughter, Marisol. But just as she’s beginning to pursue a new love with an old friend, Bea’s ex-husband resurfaces and turns their lives completely upside down.

Then there’s Daisy—sensible, rational, financially prudent Daisy. She’s never taken a risk in her life—until she meets a man who makes her question everything she thought she knew about life, love and the power of taking chances.

Guarding His Pretend Wife by Leslie North

Posted October 5, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Series, Trilogy / 0 Comments

This SEAL is strictly off-limits. But for a fake relationship… he’s the perfect man!

All Beth has to do is to pretend to fall in love with this deliciously handsome SEAL…while not actually falling in love.
Easy, right?

SEAL Eric Harvey is the perfect man to play journalist Beth William’s fake husband. Beth is on the cusp of breaking a huge story about an exclusive couples-only retreat when her colleague becomes ill. In walks Eric, her brother’s gorgeous buddy, and a brilliant idea strikes her. This Navy SEAL, on leave nursing an injury, could step in and pose as her husband while she tries to uncover what’s really happening at the retreat. With their story set, the two head to the tropical island, ready to do their job. It’s all business—until it isn’t. Beth hadn’t realized how difficult it was going to be pretending to be in love while not actually falling in love with this sexy man. As the two get closer to finding the truth about the resort, Beth finds herself getting unexpectedly closer to Eric. Something that wasn’t in the plan at all.

Eric agreed to Beth’s plan out of pure boredom. Why not spend some time on a tropical island with a beautiful girl, even if his buddy’s sister is completely off-limits? But it doesn’t take long before he realizes something is seriously wrong with this paradise. Someone seems to be out to hurt Beth, kicking Eric’s protective instincts into high gear. Now he’s keeping Beth close for her safety even as his head warns him to keep his distance. Sure, there’s danger on the island, but the most dangerous thing may be the way his body and his heart is responding to Beth.

Thank goodness Beth reminds him that the only reason she is on the island is for her job—a job that just might kill them both…or leave their hearts in tatters if they don’t trust each other.

Titles in the SEAL Endgame series include — Guarding the Single Mother – Guarding His Pretend Wife – Guarding His Unexpected Twins

Christmas in Harmony Harbor by Debbie Mason

Posted October 5, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Evangeline Christmas will do anything to save her year-round Christmas store, Holiday House, when high-powered real-estate developer Caine Elliot uses his money and influence to push through his competing property next door. When her last desperate attempt to stop him fails, she gambles everything on a proposition she prays the handsome, blue-eyed player can’t refuse.

Caine agrees to Evie’s bargain because how hard can it be to fulfill three wishes on the Angel Tree at Holiday House? The wishes have him reliving the Christmases of his past and taking part in the holiday festivities of Christmas present. But just when he begins to believe Evie might be his Christmas future, dark secrets from his past are revealed.

Will the last wish on the Angel Tree be enough to give Caine and Evie the happy ending they deserve?

Titles in the Harmony Harbor series include – Mistletoe Cottage – Christmas with an Angel (#1.5) – Starlight Bridge – Primrose Lane – Sugarplum Way – Driftwood Cove – Sandpiper Shore – The Corner of Holly and Ivy – Barefoot Beach – Christmas in Harmony Harbor –

Royally Abandoned by Sarah Fischer and Kelsey McKnight

Posted October 2, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

A seat on the throne or a place in her heart?

Greyson Montgomery dreams of a simple life, but as the crown prince of Aldora, simple is not in his future. Before ascending the throne on Christmas Eve, Greyson is given one month to explore how the other half lives. Armed with a few hundred dollars and a fake backstory, Greyson flies to Savannah, Georgia, to see if he has what it takes to chase the American Dream.

Scarlett Calhoun is a Southern Belle with a heart as big as a Georgia peach. When she meets the charming construction worker, Greyson, it isn’t long before she is embracing the holiday cheer. Soon, she’s teaching him how to cook, falling for his exotic accent and soulful eyes, and joining him on picnic lunches where they talk for hours.

With Christmas Eve nearing, Greyson must fly back to Aldora and either abdicate the throne or take his rightful place as king. Will he ignore his birthright to remain with Scarlett or will she be royally abandoned?

Returning to Eden by Rebecca Hartt

Posted October 1, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

–Present Day, Virginia Beach, Virginia–

A dead man stands on her doorstep.

When the Navy wrote off her MIA husband as dead, Eden came to terms with being a widow. But now, her Navy SEAL husband is staring her in the face. Eden knows she should be over-the-moon, but she isn’t.

Diagnosed with PTSD and amnesia, Navy SEAL Jonah Mills has no recollection of their fractured marriage, no memory of Eden nor her fourteen-year-old daughter. Still, he feels a connection to both.

Unfit for active duty and assigned to therapy, Jonah knows he has work to do and relies on God, who sustained him during captivity, to heal his mind, body, and hopefully his family.

But as the memories lurking in his wife’s haunted eyes and behind his daughter’s uncertain smile begin to return to him, Jonah makes another discovery. There is treachery in the highest ranks of his Team, treachery that not only threatens him but places his new-found family in its crosshairs.

Titles in The Acts of Valor series include – Returning to Eden – Every Secret Thing – The Lost is Found –

The Risk by Caitlin Crews

Posted October 1, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Series / 0 Comments

In the second installment of The Billionaire’s Club quartet, arrogant billionaire Sebastian Dumont risks everything for one night with an exquisite dancer…whose dark fantasy leaves him wanting more.

Love is a risk I will never take, a prize too good for a man who betrayed his family. That’s why I prefer to keep things transactional. So when I see the exquisite tiny dancer in the exclusive Parisian billionaire’s club, turning her burlesque into an erotic art form, I’ll give whatever it takes to have her…

She is mine for one night, to do with as I please. But following my commands seems to bring her as much pleasure as it does me. And I can’t help wondering at her performance. She almost makes me believe this is a fantasy of her own making.

I’m not ready to let her go after just one night, but I never imagined my hunt would lead me to New York City, or to a restrained and disciplined ballerina. Stoking the fire that rages between us could be the biggest risk I’ve ever taken…one that may cost me everything, including my damaged heart.

Titles in multi-author quartet The Billionaires Club include — The Debt by Jackie Ashenden – The Risk by Caitlin Crews –

A Gingerbread Romance by Lacey Baker

Posted September 28, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Nothing could be sweeter
than knowing your heart is at home…

Taylor’s architectural firm enters her in a contest in which the teams will design and build life-sized gingerbread houses. After the contest, Taylor will likely be getting a promotion to a position in another city. But Taylor’s original partner soon backs out, and she needs to find a replacement.

When she meets Adam, a baker, and single dad, at a local bakery, she convinces him to partner with her for the contest. After all, winning would give the bakery and his designs much-needed exposure.

For years Taylor has been resistant to call anywhere “home” for fear it would only be temporary. But the time she spends with Adam and his daughter Brooke in their cozy home, decorating for Christmas, and enjoying Philadelphia’s holiday traditions, fills her with a longing for a place to call her own.

Snowfall on Cedar Trail by Annie Rains

Posted September 26, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

Last Christmas was tough for Halona Locklear and her seven-year-old son Theo, who hasn’t spoken a word since his father’s death. This year, Halona wants nothing more than to give him a good holiday and to hear his sweet voice again. Enrolling him in the Mentor Match program might help, but when Theo gets matched with Sweetwater Springs Chief of Police, Alex Baker, Halona realizes that the handsome hero might know secrets about her past that she is determined to keep buried.

Chief of Police, Alex Baker, re-opens his father’s hit-and-run cold case every December, hoping to finally solve it. This year, his plate is full with being a Mentor Match to a young seven-year-old boy as well. His biggest obstacle, however, is fighting his attraction to the boy’s mother, Halona. As Alex gets close to solving his father’s cold case, he learns that those closest to him might be in danger — including Halona.

Alex has already lost one of the most important people in his life; he isn’t about to lose her too, even if it means walking away to keep her safe.

Includes the bonus novel Then There Was You by Miranda Liasson!

Titles in the Sweetwater Springs series include — Christmas on Mistletoe Lane – A Wedding on Lavender Hill (#1.5) –Springtime at Hope Cottage – Kiss Me in Sweetwater Springs (#2.5) – Snowfall on Cedar Trail –

Lethal Nights by Lora Leigh

Posted September 26, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Series / 0 Comments

Ilya Dragonovich is no stranger to the dark side. As a safe-house owner for security agency Brute Force, Dragon knows that the battle line between good and evil runs through the heart of every man―and, sometimes, a beautiful woman…

Emma Jane Preston needs help. After her marriage crumbled, she believed she could get back to a normal, happy life. But her ex-husband moved among some shady characters, and now she needs the kind of protection that comes at a cost―one that only someone like Dragon can provide. But can Emma Jane trust this handsome, undercover operator to keep her safe when she is in danger of falling into the arms of the deeply seductive, fiery Dragon – and never letting go?

Titles in the Brute Force series include – Collision Point – Dagger’s Edge – Lethal Nights –

Cooking Up Trouble by Lenora Worth

Posted September 26, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Series, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments

Can sweet and spicy make for a delicious pairing?

When barbecue food truck owner Holt Collins caters a wedding at the romantic wedding venue Falling Blossoms, he meets a woman who throws him for a loop. She may be gorgeous, but they clash immediately. He did, however, love the venue and makes an appointment to show it to his finance, only to receive a break-up text.

Devastated, Holt spends a few days trying to figure out what went wrong and what to do next. He decides to grab a bite at a local cafe, unaware that it is owned by Kayla Burton. After telling Kayla he’s no longer engaged, he later finds her kitchen in crisis and Kayla desperate for help, but unwilling to ask. He steps in and saves the day, but she hates giving up control of her kitchen, much less her heart. She’s attracted, but he’s just been jilted. Is this a rebound fling or fate working its magic?

Can a cupcake café owner find true love with Mr. Hot Holt Barbecue?

Titles in the Brides of Blossom, Texas include – Closing the Deal – Cooking Up Trouble –

Wrapped Up In You by Jill Shalvis

Posted September 25, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Connection to another series, Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

It’s love. Trust me.

After a lifetime on the move, Ivy Snow is an expert in all things temporary—schools, friends, and way too many Mr. Wrongs. Now that she owns a successful taco truck in San Francisco and an apartment to call home, Ivy’s reinvented life is on solid ground. And she’s guarded against anything that can rock it. Just like the realities of the past, she’s worked hard to cover up. And especially Kel O’Donnell. Too hot not to set off alarms, he screams temporary. If only his whispers weren’t so delightfully naughty and irresistible.

Kel, an Idaho sheriff, and ranch owner who is on vacay, but Ivy’s a spicy reason to give his short-terms plans a second thought. Best of all, she’s a tonic for his untrusting heart, burned once and still in repair. But when Ivy’s past intrudes on a perfect romance, Kel fears that everything she’s told him has been a perfect lie. Now, if only Ivy’s willing to share, Kel will fight for a true love story.

Titles in the Heartbreaker Bay series include — Sweet Little Lies – The Trouble with Mistletoe – One Snowy Night – Accidentally on Purpose – Chasing Christmas Eve – Holiday Wishes – About That Kiss – Hot Winter Nights – Playing for Keeps – Wrapped Up In You – Twist of Fate (A Dark Nights line companion novella) –

If you love Jill Shalvis’ stories then check out our Jill Shalvis page for more titles, series, and standalone titles that have been reviewed here at Keeper Bookshelf. (At one time most of Ms. Shalvis’ romances were reviewed on a website of mine that no longer exists due to circumstances beyond my control. It is my intention to bring those “lost” reviews here to Keeper Bookshelf over time.)

‘Twas the Kiss Before Christmas by Susan Hatler

Posted September 25, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Connection to another series, Contemporary Romance, Multi-Author Series, Series / 2 Comments

Faith Sterling relishes experiencing the great outdoors in style, so her job at Silver Bells Luxury Tours in Christmas Mountain, Montana is ideal. Sure, the business has been slow of late, but hopefully, the influx of tourists for the holiday season will give them the much-needed boost in sales they need.

Adam Kline is a city-boy who inherited Silver Bells Luxury Tours when his dad passed away. Adam regrets not spending more time with his dad due to his busy work schedule heading a PR firm in Manhattan. Since the store is a painful reminder of that fact, he wants nothing more than to sell it.

But Adam doesn’t count on Faith, who’s determined to show him how fantastic her small mountain town is, and convince him to keep the store and his dad’s dream alive. Soon, Adam is thinking about more than the future of the store—he’s thinking of a future with Faith.

Will the enchanting outdoor excursions be enough to convince Adam to take a chance on keeping the store open? More importantly, will a little Christmas magic help Faith and Adam remember that business is business, but love is what matters most of all?

Titles in the multi-author Christmas Mountain series include — Homecoming for Christmas by Ciara Knight – Rumor Has It by Melinda Curtis – The Christmas Compromise by Susan Hatler – ‘Twas the Kiss Before Christmas by Susan Hatler – One Complicated Christmas by Ciara Knight – Unexpectedly in Love by Jean Oram – Between Christmas and Romance by Shanna Hatfield – A Sugar Plum Christmas by Susan Hatler

(some of the earlier titles were in the Christmas Falls world – I would check to be certain you do not already have these on your shelf or an e-reader — I’ve read the first three titles in that other series, they were reviewed on a site of mine that no longer exists, so I’ll be bringing them to KB as the Christmas season gets into full swing)

Tempted at Midnight by Cheris Hodges

Posted September 25, 2019 by Marsha in Christmas Romance, Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

For hopeless romantic Sylvie Gates, there’s nothing quite as magical as a New Year’s Eve kiss. So as the clock nears midnight at her best friend’s party, Sylvie makes a beeline for the sexiest guy in the room. A happily-ever-after would be nice of course, but Sylvie’s trying to live in the moment. Plus, she’s about to begin the biggest project of her interior design career, so she better just enjoy her last night of freedom . . .

Newly appointed CEO of troubled Jordan Industries, Erik Jordan expects New Year’s Eve is the last night off he’ll have all year—and the billionaire plans to make the most of it. Locking lips with gorgeous Sylvie is just the beginning of an unforgettably steamy night together.

But the fact that she steals his signature move and slips away in the morning is only the first surprise. The second is running into her again—at her job remodeling his company. Is it coincidence—or the power of a perfectly-timed kiss? With the electricity still crackling between them, and some major challenges ahead of them, they’ll find out before the year is through . . .