Book Review - THE WEDDING RANCH by Nancy Naigle

 

Author: Nancy Naigle
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: December 6, 2022
Available for Pre-order Now!

About the Book:

A second chance at love awaits two brokenhearted people if they’re just willing to trust each other—and themselves, in USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle's The Wedding Ranch.

When Lorri Walker’s husband gifted her with a mastiff puppy on Valentine’s Day, she believed he was recommitting himself to their marriage after going astray. Six months later, he left both her and their dog for someone else. Since her recent move to Dalton Mill to unbraid herself from the past, Lorri’s graphic design business is now flourishing, her growing mastiff, Mister, has plenty of space to romp, and her ex in Raleigh can fade to a distant memory.

Ryder Bolt is haunted by the tragic loss of his wife and young son seven years ago. Thankfully, ranching keeps Ryder busy, and spending time with his niece and nephew—whose venue, The Wedding Ranch, has become a popular tourist destination—keeps him from getting lonely.

When Lorri and Ryder met, love was the last thing they were looking for. When they’re together, smiles come easier and burdens feel lighter, and both are embracing the possibility of something deeper.

But when a long-buried revelation surfaces, the fate that brought them together threatens to tear them apart.

Buy Links: Amazon 

Available for Pre-Order
Release Date: December 6, 2022

My Review:

I love, love, love a book that will bring out emotions for me. Whether it's smiling, laughing or tears running down my cheeks, I want to FEEL something. And this book by Nancy Naigle had it all! Such a heartwarming story! I loved it!

Lorri Walker is done with love and marriage. She finds herself starting over and doing the things that make her happy. She and her big dog, Mister, are loving life in their new country home. And although she is not looking for love, she finds a sweet connection to Ryder Bolt, who is also not looking for love. When that connection deepens, a realization occurs that could end their relationship. But keep on reading because this story does have a "happily ever after".

Nancy Naigle has created more characters that I was easily able to connect with, and included a few characters from previous books that made me feel l was reliving the past. But don't worry! This is definitely a stand-alone book. Very well done!

I received an ARC from the author and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.

My Rating:

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Nancy Naigle whips up small-town love stories with a dash of suspense and a whole lot of heart. She began her popular contemporary romance series, Adams Grove, while juggling a successful career in finance and life on a seventy-six-acre farm. She went on to produce works in collaboration with other authors, including the hilarious southern fiction G Team series. A Romance Writers of America Honor Roll author, her books have been translated in multiple languages and received favorable reviews from major trade journals.

In 2018, Crown Media brought two of Nancy's novels to life. Christmas Joy premiered on Hallmark Channel 11/3/18. Hope at Christmas premiered on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. She also novelized two Hallmark Original Movies set in the town of Evergreen, bringing the whole story and bonus epilogues to Hallmark fans.

Now happily retired from a career in the financial industry, she devotes her time to writing, antiquing, and horseback riding with friends. A Virginia girl at heart, Nancy now calls North Carolina home.

Download a complete list of Nancy's books at www.NancyNaigle.com, then stay up to date with future releases by joining Nancy's free newsletter -or-visit her on facebook and twitter (@nancynaigle)

SIX DAYS AND ONE KNIGHT by Cynthia D'Alba releases on December 6th

 https://geni.us/SixDaysOneKnight

Available on All Platforms

Being the younger sister of a beautiful, popular, and smart woman makes following behind her in life a tough existence…especially when you’ve always been in love with her childhood boyfriend.

As her sister’s maid of honor, Brianna Treadway can’t wait to help with the wedding planning. The problem is her sister wants to do the wedding planning during a couples snow ski trip for six days, and Brianna isn’t part of a couple. Her sister spontaneously invites one of Brianna’s co-workers to come along as Brianna’s date, a man who was once her sister’s high school boyfriend. Convinced her co-worker’s love interest is her sister and not Brianna, and believing he is going on the trip to come between her sister and her fiancé, Brianna agrees to go to keep him away from her sister. But how can she stop wanting him for herself?

At thirty-five, Brody Knight is tired of the dating scene. He’s ready to settle down and knows exactly who he wants to spend his life with. The problem is the woman he wants doesn’t want him, unless he’s misinterpreting her actions. When an old childhood friend invites him on a snow ski trip as a date for her younger sister, Brody jumps at the chance. The trip gives him six days to impress the woman who keeps turning him down.

When Brianna confesses that she’s only going on this trip to keep Brody from breaking up her sister and fiancé, how can he convince her that she’s the one he wants, not her sister? When Brianna sees something not meant for her eyes, how can she believe anything else but that Brody wants her sister and not Brianna?

About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Cynthia D’Alba started writing on a challenge from her husband in 2006 and discovered having imaginary sex with lots of hunky men was fun. She was born and raised in a small Arkansas town. After being gone for a number of years, she’s thrilled to be making her home back in Arkansas living in a vine-covered cottage on the banks of an eight-thousand acre lake. When she’s not reading or writing or plotting, she’s doorman for her border collie, cook, housekeeper and chief bottle washer for her husband and slave to a noisy, messy parrot. She loves to chat online with friends and fans.

Learn more about Cynthia D'Alba and sign up for her newsletter on her website at www.CynthiaDAlba.com 

Book Review - A HARD DAY FOR A HANGOVER by Darynda Jones

Title:  A Hard Day for a Hangover
Author:  Darynda Jones
Genre:  Mystery, Suspense, Private Investigator
Release Date:  December 6, 2022
 Available for Pre-Order

About the Book:

A Hard Day for a Hangover is another humorous installment in Darynda Jones's wine mystery series deemed: "Laugh-out-loud funny, intensely suspenseful, page-turning fun."—New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan

Some people greet the day with open arms. Sheriff Sunshine Vicram would rather give it a hearty shove and get back into bed, because there’s just too much going on right now. There’s a series of women going missing, and Sunny feels powerless to stop it. There’s her persistent and awesomely-rebellious daughter Auri, who’s out to singlehandedly become Del Sol’s youngest and fiercest investigator. And then there’s drama with Levi Ravinder—the guy she’s loved and lusted after for years. The guy who might just be her one and only. The guy who comes from a family of disingenuous vipers looking to oust him—and Sunshine—for good.

Like we said, the new day can take a hike.

The blockbuster conclusion to the bestselling Sunshine Vicram trilogy, A Hard Day for a Hangover will have listeners laughing and cheering to the very last page.

Buy Links: Amazon 

My Review:

This is Book #3 in this series about Sheriff Sunshine Vicram and quite frankly, I'm sorry to see it end! Darynda Jones has once again brought us likeable characters that make us laugh and cry. Yes, I laughed out loud at times and had tears rolling down my cheeks at other times. I love the banter between friends and family. 

In "A Hard Day for a Hangover", secrets are revealed and questions are answered. There is a mystery to be solved (one that gets your heart pounding while you sit on the edge of your seat), and a relationship that needs to be fixed (that makes you smile and your heart will warm). Although the author gives you some background information, you really should read the first two books in this series to fully understand the background between Sunshine, Levi, Auri, Cruz and everyone else. You will be so glad that you did. Book #3 picks up right where Book #2 left off.

Although "A Hard Day for a Hangover" was read as an ebook, I listened to the two previous books in this series on audio. If you are into audio books, I highly recommend this series. Heck! I highly recommend this series no matter how you read it.

Disclosure: A complimentary advance copy was provided by NetGalley and the Publisher, St.Martin's Press, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.

My Rating: 

About the Author:

NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling Author Darynda Jones has won numerous awards for her work, including a prestigious RITA, a Golden Heart, and a Daphne du Maurier, and her books have been translated into 18 languages. As a born storyteller, Darynda grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, and she is ever so grateful for the opportunity to carry on that legacy. She currently has two series with St. Martin's Press: The Charley Davidson Series and the Darklight Trilogy. She lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys. 

Book Review - A CHRISTMAS DELIVERANCE by Anne Perry

 

Title:  A Christmas Deliverance
Author:  Anne Perry
Genre:  Historical Fiction, Suspense 
Publisher:  Ballentine Books

Release Date:  November 8, 2022 

About the Book:

A courageous doctor and his apprentice fight to save London’s poor—and discover that the hearts of men can be colder than a winter chill—in this gripping holiday mystery from New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.

Scuff has come a long way from his time as a penniless orphan scraping together a living on the banks of the Thames. Now he’s studying medicine at a free clinic run by Dr. Crowe, a thoughtful if stoic mentor. But lately Crowe has been distracted, having witnessed an altercation between a wealthy former patient of his named Ellie—a woman that he not only treated but developed unacknowledged feelings for—and her controlling fiancé. It seems someone is forcing Ellie to marry the man. When Crowe’s emotions come flooding back, he sets out to uncover the troubling connection between Ellie, her father, and her betrothed.

With Crowe engrossed in his investigation just weeks before the holidays, Scuff is left to run the clinic on his own, treating London’s poor and vulnerable. In the holiday spirit,  he offers Mattie, a young girl in need, a warm place to stay as the winter chill sweeps through the city. Together, Scuff and Mattie must also fend off the police, who are growing suspicious of Crowe’s amateur sleuthing. Will Crowe be able to help Ellie, and will Scuff be able to ensure that he and Mattie—and all of their patients—have a safe and peaceful Christmas?

Buy Links: Amazon 

My Review:

Although this was the first Anne Perry book I have read in the Monk series, reading this made me want to check out the others. Set in Victorian England, this is a heart-wrenching tale of a doctor who runs a riverfront clinic, barely able to keep afloat while treating patients who could only pay for his services with a loaf of bread or a few meager coins. Dr. Crowe is training Scuff, an orphan who was adopted by William Monk of the Thames River Police. 

While caring for Ellie, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, after she was severely injured in an accident near his clinic, Crowe's feelings for her grew. After she recovered, he discovered that she was engaged to marry a brut, apparently against her will. That's when Crowe sets off to discover why she was going to marry a man she obviously detested.

The beginning of the book pulled me in, with the introduction of Mattie, a little orphan girl who needed medical attention, and then the confrontation between Crowe, Ellie and Paul. And toward the end of the book was heart-pounding excitement as the climax of this suspenseful tale comes together. Dotted throughout the book and especially at the end, the true meaning of Christmas is felt. A family is created, not by sharing a bloodline, but by sharing what is in their hearts, and caring for those who need it.

The middle of this novella dragged on a bit but the end was worth hanging in there.

Disclosure: A complimentary advance copy was provided by NetGalley and the Publisher, Ballantine Books, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.

My Rating: 

About the Author:

Anne Perry (born Juliet Hulme) is an English author of historical detective fiction, best known for her Thomas Pitt and William Monk series. In 1954, at the age of fifteen, she was convicted of participating in the murder of her friend's mother. She changed her name to "Anne Perry" after serving a five-year sentence.

Her first novel, The Cater Street Hangman, was published under this name in 1979. Her works generally fall into one of several categories of genre fiction, including historical murder mysteries and detective fiction. Many of them feature a number of recurring characters, most importantly Thomas Pitt, who appeared in her first novel, and amnesiac private investigator William Monk, who first appeared in her 1990 novel The Face of a Stranger.

As of 2003, she had published 47 novels, and several collections of short stories. Her story "Heroes," which first appeared the 1999 anthology Murder and Obsession, edited by Otto Penzler, won the 2001 Edgar Award for Best Short Story. She was included as an entry in Ben Peek's Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth, a novel exploring the nature of truth in literature.

Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane. She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.

Book Blitz & Giveaway - SON OF THE SALT CHASER (Salt Chasers, #2) by A.S. Thornton

Son of the Salt Chaser
A.S. Thornton
(Salt Chasers, #2)
Publication date: November 8th 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance

The gift of magic may be a curse.

After her desert-transforming wish, Emel follows Saalim to Madinat Almulihi to reclaim all she has lost. But the seaside city is not what she expected. When she is tasked with assisting the palace healer, she is faced daily with the reminder that Saalim—focused only on seeking the revenge of those who killed his family—does not remember her at all.

Cursing the magic that destroyed her love and brought her to an unwelcoming city, Emel regrets her decision to leave her settlement. That is, until she meets Kas. Though inscrutable, he is the first person to help her forget her past, and the pull of finding happiness with him tempts her from the life she wished for with Saalim.

But darkness waits in the desert, and not all people in Madinat Almulihi are what they seem. When Emel understands she is entangled in the fate of the city—and of Saalim—she is faced with the realization that magic may be the most powerful card in her hand. It might be the only way to save all that she loves, but if she plays her hand wrong, it could destroy everything.

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SNEAK PEEK:

Leaning back onto my hands, I pushed my feet into the cool water. My raw, blistered skin welcomed the relief.

“What do you think they’re doing?” Firoz asked, nudging me with his own submerged foot.

Soldiers from Madinat Almulihi stood across the large pool. I would have assumed they were cooling themselves, too, but the longer I watched, the more I saw that there was a pattern—almost a rhythm—to the way they dipped their hands into the water and pressed it to their brows, wrists, and necks.

“Praying,” a voice said from behind me. A voice so achingly familiar it took all of my strength not to jump from the ground and rush to him.

Slowly, I turned to Saalim.

In our few days of travel, I had come to understand that he and his men behaved differently from my father and his court. It still surprised me that their king—my king—could appear so unlike a royal. His dark sirwal was rolled at his calves, his feet bare. He wore no weapons, and the black tunic across his chest was dust-covered and almost tattered at the edges; the guthra that loosely wrapped his face, equally worn. Had Saalim himself not told me tales of the wealth and allure of Madinat Almulihi, I would not believe that it was a city worth seeing at all.

“Eiqab will strain to hear,” Firoz said.

Saalim looked away from his soldiers down to Firoz. “We worship the giver, not the punisher.”

“Wahir,” I said. How strange it was to see someone praying to the lesser god. How wrong.

Saalim’s gaze met mine.

A rush of cold and hot, longing and desperation, and . . . Sons, how didn’t he feel it? Couldn’t he see me as I saw him? I felt as I had the first time he looked at me after he became human again, when he had killed my father and his eyes locked on mine. I stared back, willing him to feel, to remember as I did . . . the set of his jaw hard beneath my fingers, his lips against my own, his breath warm as I pulled it into my lungs. His hands so careful against my skin, his heart beating against my breast, the tremor of his voice as he said my name.

“Emel, isn’t it?” he asked.

The memories scattered. I bent my head to the ground, not wanting him to see my grimace. He felt nothing, remembered nothing. Sons, he did not know me at all.

Masira was a devious goddess, giving so much but taking as much in return. Damn her magic that she unfurled like a woven rug! Something beautiful to cover all of the ugly scars and secrets, to distract from them. But that was all the magic did, wasn’t it? What it tried to remove, it did so sloppily. Everything still lay underneath the threads.

“Yes, she is Emel,” Firoz said loudly.

I looked back to Saalim, brushing away my thoughts like sand on my palms.

Saalim continued. “Today, you and . . .”

“Firoz,” he said.

Saalim paused at the name, his brow pulling together slightly before he continued.

“Firoz. I am still learning. You both will help with the cook-fires.” Then he turned from us and continued around the water’s edge.

“Well, I at least know food is cooked on a fire. What do you know about cooking?” Firoz chuckled. His mother always cooked for his family, and I had had no business working in the palace kitchens as an ahira.

I forced a laugh as I watched Saalim walk away.

“What bothers you?” Firoz asked.

I shook my head.

“He’s just a king, Emel. Same heart that can be pierced by blade.” He stabbed the air with an invisible blade.

Author Bio:

A. S. Thornton is the author of award-winning Daughter of the Salt King (CamCat Books, 2021), the first book in the Salt Chasers duology. She has evolved from book blogger to author with a particular fondness for writing forbidden love in ancient deserts. She lives with her family in Northern California. When not writing, she’s taking care of dogs and cats as a veterinarian. You’ll never find animals at the center of her writing, though. Those fictional worlds don’t have veterinarians and her literal brain can’t accept that the poor critters would be without parasite prevention.

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - LIKE A HERO by Michael J. Bowler

Like A Hero
Michael J. Bowler
Publication date: October 18th 2022
Genres: Action, Adventure, Young Adult

Courage can be costly. Orphaned brothers Vincent and Dennis Villanueva learn the truth of those words when they create a masked crime fighter and turn him loose on Los Angeles. The brainchild of fourteen-year-old Dennis and embodied in twenty-one-year-old Vincent, “Invictus” hits the streets to jumpstart apathetic Angelenos into taking a more active role in their city.

But reality isn’t a comic book. Vincent finds poverty, homelessness, drug addiction, abuse, and cast-off children. Labeled a vigilante and criminal, the shy grad student with formidable martial arts talent and abysmal people skills soon doubts his ability to make an impact.

Forced to straddle an ambiguous line between moral and legal, he becomes disheartened and secretive, hiding the truth of what he’s doing from Dennis and driving a wedge between them. Feeling neglected, Dennis infiltrates a dangerous drug ring to show Vincent he can be just as heroic, not knowing that the woman in charge is weaving an insidious plot against Invictus as part of her citywide scheme of vengeance. In a race against time, Vincent must regain Dennis’s trust before the brother he loves is lost to him forever.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play

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SNEAK PEEK:

Dennis lay face down on the soccer field, while men in ski masks strolled among his prone classmates waving semi-automatic weapons at anyone who moved. He considered employing his martial arts skills, but being skinny and only passably good, such foolish courage would probably get him killed.

He shook his hair from in front of his eyes with a slight jerking motion and focused on James and Linda, lying on the field off to the side with the rest of the parents.

James had his head slightly raised and Dennis caught his eye. When a gun- man approached, James quickly returned his face to the grass. James wanted to intervene. That was obvious by the way he kept looking around for some kind of opening. But could he do anything without getting people killed?

The masked men called themselves “anarchists” and were well armed. Despite lying prone for the past forty minutes, Dennis had managed to spot sentries pa- trolling the rooftops, apparently stationed there to prevent the cops outside from storming the school and making their way to the field. He’d also noted the types of weapons these guys carried and considered how best each could be disarmed if this was a comic book scenario.

Except it wasn’t.

He considered the anarchists’ claims. They said they were “anti-capitalism” and “anti-public-school indoctrination,” but then they demanded twenty million as ransom for not killing him and his classmates, which sounded pretty capitalistic to him.

Raising his eyes once more, he noted a big, broad-shouldered dude wearing a black and blue ski mask, staring right at him while chatting with a burly guy holding an Uzi. Dennis averted his eyes and hoped he hadn’t called too much attention to himself. He’d overheard them earlier as they conversed by walkie-talkie. Masked guy was called “C-1” and burly guy “C-2” by the other anarchists, so he figured they ran the show.

He glanced over at Jackson and Kenny lying a few feet away. His two best friends looked terrified. Jackson’s curly hair partially hid his brown eyes, but Kenny’s bright blue ones screamed pure fear. Dennis tried for an encouraging smile, but it was difficult with his cheek pressed against the grass.

All his comic book scenarios started much like this one, except the hero al- ways knew what to do. As annoying as Robin could be, he’d know what to do even if Batman wasn’t around. Dennis’s mind raced with ideas. He knew James was packing—on duty or off, James always packed. But if he pulled his gun, kids would die.

I wish I’d thought of something when these guys first showed up.

Instead, he’d frozen with fear when the masked men flooded onto the field. And now with everything that had gone down since, Dennis trembled with the terrifying possibility that someone would die. Maybe him. Sadly, he wasn’t the hero of his dreams.

He peered at the administration buildings. Long and single story, the two main wings spread the length of the field. His gaze traveled up and he squinted with confusion. The sentry who’d been on duty at the north end was gone.

What the…?

Dennis knew his weaponry from playing Call of Duty and other war games, and that guy had been patrolling with an Artic Warfare Super Magnum sniper rifle, likely a .338 Lapua Magnum, but Dennis was too far away to be sure of the model.

Only now the guy was gone. With C-2 barely ten feet away, Dennis used caution to scan the south roof. That sentry was gone, too. SWAT maybe? He knew James’ mean-ass boss would have called in the big guns for something like this. But he was also sure those sentries had been up there no more than two minutes ago.

Could it be Invictus?

His heart thumped with hope. Vincent must know about this by now. Dennis pressed his face into the grass and pretended to look scared. Hell, he didn’t have to pretend. He was scared!

Author Bio:

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author who grew up in Northern California. He majored in English/Theatre at Santa Clara University, earned a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and a master’s in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills. Michael taught high school in Hawthorne, California, both in general education and to students with disabilities. When Michael is not writing, he serves as a youth mentor with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles, but mostly he takes care of his recently adopted son. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California and hopes that his books can show young people they are not alone in their struggles.

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - REASONS WHY NOT TO DATE YOUR NEMESIS (Shell Grove, #2) by Melanie Munton

Reasons Why Not to Date Your Nemesis
Melanie Munton
(Shell Grove, #2)
Publication date: October 4th 2022
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

There’s a new sheriff in town…
And he’s her worst nightmare.

Reason #1: Ben Crawford is Olivia Knight’s long-time arch rival. They’ve been sworn enemies ever since she wore overalls to school one day, and he asked her in homeroom where she parked her cow. Now that he’s back, it doesn’t appear much has changed. He’s still arrogant. He’s still trouble. And this time, he’s got a badge and handcuffs. Which will make murdering him and disposing of his body much more challenging for her.

Reason #2: Sheriff Ben has done a lot of growing up during his time away from Shell Grove. He went and got himself some muscles and tattoos, and has the nerve to wear that sheriff’s uniform absurdly well. For some reason, that’s all she can seem to focus on whenever they cross paths. All the nice changes he’s made, instead of how vehemently she’s vowed to hate his guts for all eternity.

Reason #3: The complicated connection that has forever entwined their lives doesn’t have a pleasant backstory. As adults, they should be able to forget what happened when they were teenagers and move on. But in a small town where everyone has long memories, there are reminders everywhere of the nasty events that destroyed both of their families years ago. And she’s not sure their growing feelings for each other are enough to forgive the sins of the past and carve out a future…together.

Ben has a secret. A big one. The longer he’s in Shell Grove and surrounded by people who know his sordid history, the more likely that secret is going to come out. But if it does, Olivia will never speak to him again. Which will not do. Because he’s finally realized that Olivia is the reason why he came back to town in the first place. And if he doesn’t want to lose her forever, he needs to correct the mistakes he made a long time ago and prove he’s not the NEMESIS she’s always thought him to be.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

—

EXCERPT:

Ben was barely listening to the conversation around him since a familiar tingling sensation had started crawling up the back of his neck. It was the anticipation of getting eyes on Olivia, needing eyes on her. Making sure that no one was heckling her, that she was having a good time.

Oh, who are you bullshitting? You don’t want her having a good time with another guy.

It made him a bastard, but yeah. He honestly didn’t know what he would do if he saw her flirting with another man. Probably break something. Maybe whip out his cuffs and threaten to arrest some motherfuckers. Which was completely insane. He needed to bottle that shit up immediately before the crazy started to show on his face.

Something over Finn’s shoulder caught his attention, and Ben saw red.

He took it all back. There was a motherfucker that definitely needed arresting.

The one currently chatting up his girl.

Your girl? Since when, Benny?

Some douchebag wearing a blue button-up shirt with whales all over it was smiling at Olivia from ear-to-ear as they stood next to the food truck-turned-mobile tiki bar, Freaky Tiki. He didn’t recognize the guy, but he was openly flirting with the wrong woman.

“Be right back,” he bit out to his friends and took off storming across the sand.

He’d tried to control it. It wasn’t like they had agreed to be exclusive. They weren’t even dating, for Christ’s sake. But Ben acting on his jealousy toward Olivia had become a compulsion in a remarkably short period of time. Any man that showed the slightest interest in her, he wanted to pummel into the fucking ground. He knew it was selfish and irrational and completely unfair of him. But controlling that impulse—the impulse to do something and mark his territory—was as impossible as telling his dick to chill the fuck out every time it was in her presence.

He was closing in on them before he took stock of himself.

And oh, he really should have.

The county sheriff was barreling down on The Freaky Tiki like he was about to put somebody on their ass. People on the beach got out of his way and watched him with wide eyes, probably hoping they were about to catch something on their phones they could post on their socials. But he wasn’t going to get physical with the guy. Probably not. He was just going to intimidate the hell out of him until he put at least a good twenty feet between his body and Olivia’s.

Olivia caught sight of him approaching over Moby Dick’s shoulder, her face betraying her shock.

“Evening, Liv.”

Her companion jolted because yeah, Ben had snuck up right behind him and the guy hadn’t even noticed. Military training strikes again. It wasn’t like Moby Dick was a shrimp by any means, but Ben still had inches and pounds on him. In the physical sense, Ben didn’t feel threatened at all. But when another male started sniffing around Olivia…he saw everything as a fucking threat. A simple nod, an innocent smile. Any behavior that was targeted at her for the express purpose of showing sexual or romantic interest risked the possibility of Olivia nodding back at someone else. Of her smiling back at someone that wasn’t him. And oftentimes, smiling was a gateway to so much more.

“Hello, Sheriff.”

As casual a greeting as that was, her voice was anything but. The husky quality to her words belied an intimacy between them. A personal history.

He fucking loved hearing that.

She cleared her throat and yanked her gaze away. “Um. Colin, this is Sheriff Crawford.”

Moby Dick shrewdly inspected him for a few seconds before rising to his full height that was still an inch or two shorter than Ben’s. “Nice to meet you.”

When he stuck out his hand, Ben didn’t move to shake it. In fact, he didn’t address Dick at all.

To Olivia, he gritted out, “Could I have a word?”

Author Bio:

Melanie grew up in the Midwest, but she loves living in the Southeast (where the beaches are!) now with her husband and daughter.
Melanie's other passion is traveling and seeing the world. With anthropology degrees under their belts, she and her husband have made it their goal in life to see as many archaeological sites around the world as possible.
She has a horrible food addiction to pasta and candy (not together...ew). And she gets sad when her wine rack is empty.
At the end of the day, she is a true romantic at heart. She loves writing the cheesy and corny of romantic comedies, and the sassy and sexy of suspense. She aims to make her readers swoon, laugh out loud, maybe sweat a little, and above all, fall in love.
Go visit Melanie's website and sign up for her newsletter to stay updated on release dates, teasers, and other details for all of her projects!

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