Category: Contemporary Romance

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 . . .

An Unforgettable Christmas by Ginny Baird

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

He doesn’t remember his past, but could she have a future with him?

Angie Lopez, a widowed mom, works hard at Singleton’s Jewelers. Sam Singleton, her often-irritating boss, hardly does anything besides work. He doesn’t spend time with friends and family, even around the holidays. That’s why Angie’s the one who winds up taking care of him when a head injury leaves him with amnesia.

As Sam attempts to remember who he is, he learns about the luxurious but empty life he leads…and he’s not impressed. Meanwhile, Angie sees a new side of him as he shares Christmas traditions with her, her son Pepe, and her extended family. Angie shares touching, emotional moments with Sam. But if he gets his memories back, what will happen to her heart?

Cowboy Christmas Redemption by Maisey Yates

Posted September 24, 2019 by Marsha in Connection to another series, Contemporary Romance, Harlequin, Modern Western Romance, Series / 0 Comments

As snowflakes fall in Gold Valley, Oregon, will this rugged cowboy finally win the woman of his dreams?

Cowboy Caleb Dalton has loved single mom Ellie Bell, and her little daughter, Amelia, for years. But since Ellie is his best friend’s widow, Caleb’s head knows Ellie will always be strictly off-limits. If only his heart got the memo. So when Caleb discovers that Ellie has a Christmas wish list—and hopes for a kiss under the mistletoe—he’s throwing his cowboy hat into the ring. If anyone’s going to be kissing Ellie and sharing this magical time with her and her daughter, it’s him.

Ellie has dreaded the holidays since losing her husband. But this year, she’s finally ready to make some changes. She never expects the biggest change to be the heart-stopping kiss she shares with Caleb. For almost five years, Caleb has been her best friend, her rock, her salvation. This Christmas, can Caleb prove he’s also the missing puzzle piece of Ellie’s and Amelia’s hearts?

Titles in the Gold Valley series include — Cowboy Christmas Blues (#0.5) – Smooth-Talking Cowboy – Mail-Order Cowboy (#1.5) – Untamed Cowboy – Hard Riding Cowboy (#2.5) – Good Time Cowboy – Snowed in with the Cowboy (#3.5) – A Tall, Dark Cowboy Christmas – Unbroken Cowboy – Cowboy to the Core – Lone Wolf Cowboy – Cowboy Christmas Redemption – A Hope Springs Homecoming – The Hero of Hope Springs –

Reach For A Star by Kathryn Freeman

Posted September 24, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 2 Comments

What if your dreams were so close you could reach out and touch them?

How could anyone resist Michael Tennant, with his hypnotic blue eyes and a voice like molten chocolate? Jessie Simmons certainly can’t. But Jessie’s a single mum who can’t sing to save her life – there’s no way she’ll ever cross paths with the star tenor.

At least that’s what she thinks until she’s unexpectedly invited to take part in a new reality TV show. The premise? Professional singers teach hopeless amateurs how to sing. The surprise? Jessie’s partner is none other than Michael Tennant!

As she becomes better acquainted with the man behind the voice, will Jessie find out the hard way that you should never meet your idols? Or will she get more than she bargained for?

Undercover by Rebecca Crowley

Posted September 23, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Series / 0 Comments

The assignment has a deadline, but does their relationship?

After almost ten years dodging bullets as a foreign correspondent, Asher Brody is struggling to find his place back in the U.K. – and in his family-run newspaper, the London Phoenix. He’s intent on proving he’s as committed as his brothers, even if it means putting on a suit and posh accent to investigate a high-ranking executive at an upscale retreat.

Ada Hunter wasted years trailing her ex-boyfriend, only for him to turn his back when her documentary career finally took off. Now she’s beating her own path, and it’s taking her all over the world. To secure funding for her next project, she takes a risky job with the Phoenix posing as broody-sexy Asher’s fake girlfriend – too good to be true.

They plan to spend a few days pretending to be a couple at a country estate before going their separate ways. But when bad weather strands them in the countryside, temptation develops into something more and the line between fantasy and reality becomes dangerously blurred.

Titles in the London Phoenix series include — Insider – Undercover –

The Boyfriend Contract by Victoria James

Posted September 23, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

Emily Birmingham has had it up to here with men.

Growing up with an overbearing father and then her brother inherits everything she’s worked her whole life to build. Now she’s living in her grandmother’s dilapidated house in the middle of nowhere Canada, jobless, and dealing with the most annoyingly sexy contractor on the planet. Exactly when did her life become an anti-Hallmark movie?

Cooper Merrick learned the hard way that love is definitely not worth the risk. He’s happy running the family contracting business alongside his well-meaning but overly-opinionated brothers…happy enough until polished and perfect Emily enters his world. Nothing prepared him for the ways she turns his life upside down and reaches the parts of himself he’s closed off from the world.

But when he finally gets up the nerve to ask Emily out, she says her next date will need to come with a written contract and some very particular ground rules. Yeah, it sounds crazy, but why does he find himself wanting to sign on the dotted line?

Non-series Stand-Alone Title

Lost Years by MK Schiller

Posted September 22, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance / 0 Comments

Ever had a dream so real it feels like a memory?

I’ve had those kinds of dreams since I was a kid. Each one of a beautiful girl, who is my best friend. We grow up together on a sunny island surrounded by water that’s as blue as her eyes. We share all our hopes and fears until we realize we belong to each other in every way one person claims another. She is my own personal serenity. Sweet story, eh?

Well, forget about it.

The cold, harsh reality is that I’m a twenty-year-old, Manhattan bred, manwhore, who uses his fists to solve his problems. The only comfort I find is inside a bottle… and the dreams. But the dreams are my illness, not my cure. Just when things look the darkest, the sun slaps me square in the jaw. I spot a picture of a scenic island surrounded by the bluest water – my island.

If the island exists then so must the girl, right?

So I’m headed to Serenity, Texas to find my girl and make some sense out of the chaos that is my life. Feel free to tag along, but this journey comes with a steep warning — dreams can turn into nightmares in the blink of an eye.

My name is Jason Flynn and this is our story.

Guarding the Single Mother by Leslie North

Posted September 22, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Series / 0 Comments

Retired Navy SEAL, Clint Backwater, enjoys his solitary life as the owner of the Ask Questions Later gun range. It’s the kind of place you find because you know a guy. So when Leila Ortiz, a petite woman with a “baby on board” sticker on the back of her car—and an 18-month-old boy in her arms—shows up at the range, panicked and desperate for a gun, he knows something is wrong. Having grown up in the foster system, Clint has seen what happens when you let yourself get too invested—things get messy, people leave. He made himself a promise to never get emotionally involved again, but the former SEAL in him feels the tug to help this woman and her child.

Leila’s ex-husband is being released from prison early on good behavior and she found out too late. He was supposed to serve five years, not two, and Leila is unprepared to protect herself and her son. She promised him they’d never run again—they’ve made a nice life for themselves and the last thing she wants to do is leave it all behind.

When Clint refuses to give Leila a gun without lessons, she agrees to return to the range to learn. At first, Leila won’t say why she’s so desperate for protection, but when the threats from her ex escalate, it becomes clear what she’s afraid of.

Clint is a loner. Always has been, always will be. So when Leila and her little son enter his life, it hits him—hard— maybe being alone isn’t what he needs. Still, having his solitary life disrupted when he invites the little family into his home is a bit tougher to take than he thought. With Leila and her son in danger, though, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe—even putting up with stray toys and changing a nappy or two.

But the biggest danger might be to his heart when it starts to look like the safest thing for Leila and her baby might be to leave her problems—and her budding relationship with Clint—behind.

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

Daring to Fall by Shannon Stults

Posted September 22, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Modern Western Romance, Series, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments

Can she forgive the past or will she sacrifice her present?

When she finds herself as the sole legal guardian of her teenage sister and the heir of a significant fortune, Harper Maddox drops out of medical school to move back to her small hometown of Willow Creek, Georgia. Her return brings her face to face with Russell Hart (aka Cowboy), her fiercely independent and sexy first love who broke her heart three summers ago after gaining her wary trust.

Harper is determined to protect her heart and resist Cowboy’s allure, but when she decides to remodel and reopen her parents’ B&B, she must turn to the one man she was determined to ignore for advice and assistance. Cowboy proves to be a surprising ally and friend, and it’s only a matter of weeks before she finds herself falling for him all over again. He appears reformed, but Harper still questions his ability to fall in love.

Will Harper’s fear of getting hurt outweigh a chance at true happiness?

Titles in the Willow Creek series include — Keeping Score – Daring to Fall –

Make It Up To You by Lucy Keeling

Posted September 22, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance / 0 Comments

What do mascara wands and gardening shears have in common?

Absolutely nothing! At least that’s what wannabe beauty influencer Sophie Timney thinks when her friend Polly suggests involving her brother Marcus in Sophie’s make-up tutorials. She needs more views, Marcus needs promotion for his gardening business – in Polly’s mind joining forces will help them both. Sophie isn’t so sure.

Because Marcus Bowman has a habit of getting under her skin in a way that no exfoliating face scrub ever could. But, as the views and comments on her videos begin creeping up, it becomes increasingly obvious that Sophie’s subscribers like Marcus, and what’s even worse is that Sophie might be starting to feel the same way.

Five Years Gone by Marie Force

Posted September 21, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense, Series / 0 Comments

The most brazen terrorist attack in history. A country bent on revenge. A love affair cut short. A heart that never truly heals.

I knew on the day of the attack that our lives were changed forever. What I didn’t know then was that I’d never see John again after he deployed. One day he was living with me, sleeping next to me, making plans with me. The next day he was gone.

That was five years ago. The world has moved on from that awful day, but I’m stuck in my own personal hell, waiting for a man who may be dead for all I know. At my sister’s wedding, I meet Eric, the brother of the groom, and my heart comes alive once again.

The world is riveted by the capture of the terrorist mastermind, brought down by U.S. Special Forces in a daring raid. Now I am trapped between hoping I’ll hear from John and fearing what’ll become of my new life with Eric if I do.

Five Years Gone – (Sequel) One Year Home

His Billionaire Bride by Madeline Ash

Posted September 14, 2019 by Marsha in Contemporary Romance, Series, Tule Publishing / 0 Comments

Business investor Carrie Morgan is guarded for a long list of good reasons. She’s battled her way to the top of her industry, dealt with enough bad sex to put her off men, and if her painful past has taught her anything, it’s that commitment always ends in heartbreak.

When Carrie’s sister asks her to sit for a portrait—as a bride—she uneasily agrees. Anything for Emmie. Even if it means intimate nightly sessions with her secret fantasy: artist Edwin Prince.

Rejected by his family and treated as temporary by past lovers, Edwin will settle for nothing less than commitment — and wants that and more from the beguiling Carrie Morgan. Startling them both, she allows him to unwind her emotional bindings one intense interaction at a time until their chemistry builds so high, she’s blinded to the fall.

And the only way out is to break both their hearts.

Titles in The Morgan Sisters series include — The Wedding Obsession – His Billionaire Bride –