PRETTY WILD, a new opposites attract, age-gap, grumpy/sunshine romance from USA Today Bestselling Author, Lacey Black, is coming June 3rd! Check out this cover!

Title:  PRETTY WILD
Series: PINE VILLAGE (#5)
Author:  LACEY BLACK
Genre:  CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Cover Design:  Y’ALL. THAT GRAPHIC
Photo:  LINDEE ROBINSON
Release Date:  JUNE 3, 2025

Ryan

Some might say I’m running away. I prefer to look at it as an extended vacation, from social media, the paparazzi, and my very public life back in Los Angeles.

That’s why I rented a small cabin in the woods in Nowhere, Wisconsin. I needed an escape and time to lick my wounds from a breakup. What I wasn’t expecting was Marcus Wright, the most frustrating man on the face of the planet, to be right next door. Our chemistry is undeniable, and it doesn’t take long to realize a summer fling is just what the doctor ordered.

Our time has a deadline though, and at the end of a month, I’m going back home to Los Angeles. Problem is, despite Marcus’s grumpy demeanor, I’m not sure I want to.

Marcus

My days, and some of my nights, are spent working on vehicles in my shop. Working and living in my hometown of Pine Village is where I’m comfortable, where I belong.

My quiet little world is disrupted the day Ryan Marcotte rolls into town in her high heels and designer clothes. She’s the exact opposite of me, a spoiled rich girl who pushes my buttons like no other. She’s famous, has her own TV show, and is only here for a short time. I’m also wildly attracted to her. I try to fight it, but the pull is too strong. So when she suggests a little no-strings fun, I’m all in.

Unfortunately, our private bubble is popped the moment fans discover her location. All good things must come to an end. I just wasn’t expecting my heart to be so invested.

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About Lacey Black:

USA Today Bestselling Author Lacey Black is a Midwestern girl with a passion for reading, writing, and shopping. She carries her e-reader with her everywhere she goes so she never misses an opportunity to read a few pages. Always looking for a happily ever after, Lacey is passionate about contemporary romance novels and enjoys it further when you mix in a little suspense. She resides in a small town in Illinois with her husband, two children, and three rowdy chickens.

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THE WOMAN LEFT BEHIND,  an all-new, beautifully-crafted, compelling second-chance, thriller romance and the fourth book in the Misted Pines Series from New York Times bestselling author Kristen Ashley, is available now!

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Sheriff Harry Moran has a broken heart and a stack of case files on his desk that the corrupt sheriff who came before him might have bungled…

There are two dead bodies in Idaho, and the gun used to kill them has been traced back to a sixteen-year-old robbery in Misted Pines.

Sheriff Harry Moran has a broken heart and a stack of case files on his desk that the corrupt sheriff who came before him might have bungled.

Or he may have framed innocent people.

The first case Harry dives into, the woman left behind lives just a block away from his office.

When Lillian Rainier opens the door to the sheriff, Harry, who’s been a dead man walking since his wife died, comes back to life.

As for Lillian, she’s had a crush on Harry for forever, Harry showing at her door, and how he is when he does only makes her fall deeper.

As Harry and his team dive into these suspicious cases, Harry and Lillian have to figure out what to do with all they feel for each other, how hard it hits them, and how deep it goes.

But as a voice from the past becomes a witness in the present, and Harry and his crew dig deeper, they sense something sinister happened years ago.

As they weave together the threads of a cold case, they realize how messy it is.

Worse, the man behind the mess is desperately cleaning it up …

And no one in Misted Pines is safe.

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Start this series of standalone thriller romances with The Girl in the Mist

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“…a tale that’s equal parts steamy, suspenseful, and soul-stirring…” ~Danielle, Red Cheeks Reads

Check out Danielle’s 5 SMOOCHES review!

EXCERPT:

Prologue

Gut

Harry

Shitty police work was one of the ugliest stains on society.

This was the thought Sheriff Harry Moran had as he sat in his ergonomic chair behind his desk at the sheriff’s department.

He was staring at the two files in front of him trying to ignore the email that was up on the monitor of his computer.

Those files were two of fifteen stacked on his desk.

Each of those files had one thing in common: the shoddy, lazy or corrupt investigation overseen by Fret County’s last sheriff, Leland Dern.

Dern was the man who came before Harry.

Which meant Harry was the man who had to clean up Dern’s mess.

Due to recent circumstances—the latest being a double murder that wasn’t properly investigated and an innocent man served prison time—a full and exhaustive, time-consuming and resource-heavy audit of every investigation under Dern’s tenure had been done.

There were shambolic cases they’d had no choice but to file away. The police work hadn’t been up to Harry’s expectations of his department, but there was nothing that pointed to an injustice being done.

Now, he and his team had to go back over those fifteen cases and hope what Harry expected—Dern playing favorites, taking bribes, looking the other way or preferring to go hunting rather than working—wouldn’t land them in lawsuits.

He was starting with these two.

He glanced at his monitor and felt his neck muscles tighten, which meant he again looked to the files and refocused.

They were the two cases that intrigued Harry the most, because the woman who had connections with both lived a block away from his department, only a five-minute walk from where he sat right there at his desk.

Lillian Rainier.

He’d lived in the town of Misted Pines his entire life, and because of his job, he knew or knew of a great many people in all of Fret County, and he’d never heard of her. But Dern suspected, and investigated, her parents of a robbery sixteen years ago.

The investigation stalled, because Sonny and Avery Rainier had disappeared. And then, the case had simply died. Nothing else had been done. Not an interview, not a single follow-up of a lead.

A year later, Lillian married Willie Zowkower, a man Harry did know well.

Willie was a low-level gentleman dealer and a high-level charming asshole who currently had three outstanding arrest warrants in Fret County.

Recently, Willie had also disappeared.

And Lillian hadn’t reported her parents, or her husband, missing.

Harry’s gut was telling him something was up with Lillian Rainier.

And what was on Harry’s computer monitor was telling him whatever that was, it was something bad.

So, no. His gut wasn’t telling him anything. It was practically screaming at him to get off his ass, walk to her house and have a word.

Since Harry wasn’t lazy, and he thought of law enforcement not as a job but as a calling, he got off his ass in order to walk to her house and have a word.

It would be a good bet Harry had passed Lillian Rainier’s house thousands of times in his life, and he never noticed it.

Standing outside it now, he wondered why.

A small cracker box painted a pale yellow with white trim, sporting a green roof and a shocking-red door, there were profuse plantings of bronze, butterscotch and yellow button mums in appealing but mismatched terracotta pots dotted up the front steps and all over porch. An attractive fall wreath of leaves, berries and pinecones was on the door. A white picket fence rounded the property, and he could see the numerous rose bushes that likely ornamented that fence in the summer had been cut back in preparation for winter.

There were two Adirondack chairs on the porch. They were painted white and had yellow, brown and green plaid lumbar pillows upstanding against the back of the seats, a wooden table with a lantern resting on top between them.

No kitschy SWEATER WEATHER! Or HAPPY FALL Y’ALL or FALL IN LOVE! signs marred the neat, well-kept property.

As he opened the gate on the fence and stepped foot on her front walk, that feeling in Harry’s gut intensified.

Something was up.

Something was about to happen.

Something big.

He walked up the steps to that bright-red door.

He knocked.

He stood in his uniform and looked through the box of six square-paned windows at the top of the door, when he sensed movement inside.

And then there she was.

She opened the door.

The instant she did, the moment his eyes caught hers, Harry’s chest caved in, and his stomach curled up.

Yeah.

Something was about to happen.

Something big.

And he wasn’t ready for it.

©2025 Kristen Ashley

About Kristen Ashley:

Kristen Ashley is the New York Times bestselling author of over eighty romance novels. She’s a hybrid author, publishing titles both independently and traditionally, her books have been translated in fourteen languages and she’s sold millions of books.

Kristen, born in Gary and raised in Brownsburg, Indiana and was a fourth-generation graduate of Purdue University. Since, she has lived in Denver, the West Country of England, and she now resides in Phoenix. She worked as a charity executive for eighteen years prior to beginning her independent publishing career. She now writes full-time.

Although romance is her genre, the prevailing themes running through all of Kristen’s novels are friendship, family and a strong sisterhood. To this end, and as a way to thank her readers for their support, Kristen has created the Rock Chick Nation, a series of programs that are designed to give back to her readers and promote a strong female community. You can learn more about Kristen and the Rock Chick Nation on her website.

Connect with Kristen:

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BRIDESMAID BY CHANCE, a steamy new grumpy/sunshine, marriage of convenience, forced proximity, workplace romantic comedy from New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author, Meghan Quinn, is out now!

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He needs her, and she needs his wedding ring…

Hudson Hopper is in some trouble. After doing his business partner, Jude, a favor by hiring his younger sister, Sloane, Hudson very quickly finds out that she is a massive distraction―especially since she’s now his assistant.

But when they are confronted with a situation where Sloane is told to fill in as a bridesmaid for one of Hudson’s business partners, she comes up with an equal trade. She’ll be a part of the regency wedding–corset and all–if Hudson marries her. Sloane knows the value of the trade, he needs her, and she needs his wedding ring to get her into a high-society club that will further her career.

It’s an instant no from Hudson at first, but when she convinces him that no one will find out, including her brother, and he will benefit from the marriage too . . . well, Hudson finds himself saying “I do.”

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“…playful, passionate and packed with the kind of love that sneaks up when you least expect it.” ~Danielle, Red Cheeks Reads

Check out Danielle’s 5 SMOOCHES review!

EXCERPT:

“Didn’t I fire you yesterday?”

“I believe that you did.” She nods as if it’s no big deal.

“Okay, so…care to tell me why you’re here, in my office, handing me a green drink with no sugar?”

“I chose not to take part in the firing.” “What the hell does that mean?” I ask.

And then to my surprise, she plops herself on top of my desk, crosses one leg over the other, and leans back on her hand, the pose incredibly too sexy, especially since the position makes the lapels of her suit jacket pop open, revealing that she’s not wearing a shirt under that blazer. Just a bra.

Christ.

“It means I chose not to be fired.”

“That’s not a thing,” I say.

“Oh, it is. You see, I’ve been taught to seize what I want, to take charge, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Therefore, I’ve decided that I’m not fired.”

“You can decide that all you want, but that’s not how things work. I’m the boss, you work for me; therefore, when I say you’re fired, you’re fired. There will be no point in coming into the office because I will not be paying you.”

“Says who?” she asks.

I point to my chest. “Says me.”

“And would you say that you’re the one that makes all the decisions?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s what the term boss entails. The decision-maker.”

“And your choice is to fire me?” What kind of fucking circus is this? Is this some sort of social media trend? Refusal to be fired? Am I actually old and I don’t realize it?

“Yes, my choice is to fire you; that’s why I did it yesterday: I fired you.”

“You did, but a part of me thinks that you might regret that decision.”

I stick my hands in my pockets and ask, “What makes you think that?”

“Because I have a proposal for you.” She hops off my desk and gestures toward my seating area.

“Please, join me.”

Skeptical but also intrigued by the fuckery, I follow her and take a seat on the couch as she does, only about a foot of space separating, close enough to catch the lavender scent that clings to her.

“What’s going on, Sloane? I have things to do.”

“I know; this won’t take too much of your time.” She places her hands on her lap and looks me in the eyes.

“I was thinking about yesterday and everything that happened. And know the right thing to do would be to come in here and tell you I didn’t mean any of the things that I said, but that would be a lie. I meant every single word.”

Every single word?

Because I remember specifically one thing in particular that she tried to deny saying, but I’m not going to bring that up, not when she’s sitting this close and smells this damn good.

“Okay,” I say.

“And an apology is not why I’m here. I’m here on business.”

“Sloane, I don’t think I can give you your job back.”

“Not looking to be your assistant,” she says, and then, to my surprise, she gets down on one knee in front of me, takes my hand in hers, and continues. “I’m looking to be your wife.”

My WHAT? “Hudson Mitchell Hopper, will you marry me?”

She smiles up at me. Blinks.

Fucking winks… She’s kidding right?

I look for something, anything, to tell me this is a joke. I glance around the room. Are there hidden cameras in here? Am I on a daytime talk show where someone is going to come out, have a gotcha moment, and say to the audience that I’ve been lusting after my too-young-for-me assistant?

I wait a few seconds, and when I realize none of that is happening, I clear my throat.

“Excuse me?”

“Look at you, in shock. How cute.” She pats my hand.

“Hudson, it’s a simple question. Will you marry me?”

“Uh…” I shake my hand out of hers and slide back on the couch, putting space between us. “Not to sound like an obtuse ass, but why the fuck would I marry you, Sloane?”

She rolls her eyes. “And here I thought you were a smart businessman.”

She gets off the ground and sits back on the couch. She straightens her clothes while I try to comprehend what the hell is happening this morning. This is why I need more coffee in the morning. Forget the green drink, I need a twenty-ounce cup of pure, unfiltered coffee, straight from the goddamn bean.

“I’ll lay it out for you: you need a wife, and I’m the one for the job.”

“I fail to see how I need a wife.”

“Are you really that dense?” she asks.

“Uh, are you really this delusional?” I counter. Another roll of the eyes.

“Jesus, Hudson. You need to impress Archie’s father-in-law, right?What’s one way to do that? Slip into the Mayfair Club. And what is one of the requirements to get into the club? You must be married.” She holds out her hand and points to her empty ring finger. “All you’ve
got to do is put a ring on it.”

Wow.

Okay.

She’s lost it.

I think the conversation I need to have with Jude is going to veer in a different direction that I’d thought. More like I think your sister might need some help .

“You know, not really in the market for a wife at the moment, but thanks for the offer. Now, I think it’s time that you leave.”

She shrugs. “Suit yourself.” She stands and starts heading toward the door. “By the way, your father called this morning. I took a message for you because I thought I might be helpful despite being fired. He said to tell you that he still plans on suing you, but he’s currently working on another investment, so he might be held up at the moment.”

And then she heads out of my office, leaving my skin prickling with irritation.

What the fuck just happened?

About Meghan Quinn:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, wife, adoptive mother, and peanut butter lover. Author of romantic comedies and contemporary romance, Meghan Quinn brings readers the perfect combination of heart, humor, and heat in every book.

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Text READ to 474747 and never miss a new release from Meghan!

ALWAYS SALTY, a suspenseful new mafia romance from Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author, Lani Lynn Vale, is available now!

Was it considered stalking if the woman you were stalking liked the idea of being stalked?

Was it considered stalking if the woman you were stalking liked the idea of being stalked?

It started out like any other job.

My brother, the head of the Russian Mafia, wanted me to delete an opponent. Like the good brother I was, I decided to give him what he wanted.

In doing so, I ended up finding a woman that made my cold, dead heart start to beat again.

One day while doing some reconnaissance on my target, I happen to overhear Keely telling her friend one of her darkest fantasies, and I decide that I’d be the one fulfilling that particular craving for her.

I tell myself that it’s only once. I’d give in to that darkness inside of me once, and I’ll leave her alone from then on.
Except, once turns into twice. And twice turns into way too many to count.

Just when I plan to cut all ties so she doesn’t start to develop feelings for a killer, I find out that Keely doesn’t have just one stalker. She has two. And the one that wasn’t me wanted her dead, and I couldn’t allow that to happen.

Not to her.

Not to the woman that not only chased my demons away, but also didn’t care that I had them in the first place.

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About Lani Lynn Vale:

Lani Lynn Vale is an American author of humorous romantic suspense novels. Born in the Great State of Texas, she has lived the majority of her adult life in East Texas where most of her novels are based. She’s married to her high school sweetheart whom her readers refer to as “LLV’s Bearded Half.” She published her first novel, Boomtown, in the summer of 2013 after the birth of her third child. She’s gone on to publish over 100 novels, with most of them going on to become USA Today Bestsellers.

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TENDERFOOT, the third interconnected standalone romantic suspense novel in the Avenging Angels series from New York Times Bestselling Author, Kristen Ashley, releases on June 17th! Check out this cover!

It’s a race between the Angels and the Hottie Squad as to who’s going to solve the mystery…

Harlow O’Neill is waiting for Javier Montoya to make his move. She has it bad for the gorgeous new investigator at Nightingale Investigations and Security. She’s sure he knows it. She’s also sure he’s just as into her.

And she’s read the Rock Chick books. She knows how those Hottie Squad men are supposed to win their women.

Javi is just not trying to win her.

Then one evening Harlow is undercover on a mission for the Avenging Angels, and Javi blows her cover. She’s not happy about it. They share words and some of the ones Javi uses aren’t all that great.

Harlow retreats. Javi goes on the advance.

And the man Harlow was investigating winds up dead.

The Angels go all in to discover what’s happening with a dating app scam that ended up with a dead guy. The Nightingale men aren’t fans of the women wading in on such a dangerous case, and they’re doing something about it.

It’s a race between the Angels and the Hottie Squad as to who’s going to solve the mystery.

While all of that happens, Javi’s not taking any chances with Harlow’s safety. He moves her into his place and Harlow learns firsthand what it means to be in the romantic crosshairs of a member of the Hottie Squad…and the heartbreaking reasons why Javi kept her at arm’s length.

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About Kristen Ashley:

Kristen Ashley is the New York Times bestselling author of over eighty romance novels. She’s a hybrid author, publishing titles both independently and traditionally, her books have been translated in fourteen languages and she’s sold millions of books.

Kristen, born in Gary and raised in Brownsburg, Indiana and was a fourth-generation graduate of Purdue University. Since, she has lived in Denver, the West Country of England, and she now resides in Phoenix. She worked as a charity executive for eighteen years prior to beginning her independent publishing career. She now writes full-time.

Although romance is her genre, the prevailing themes running through all of Kristen’s novels are friendship, family and a strong sisterhood. To this end, and as a way to thank her readers for their support, Kristen has created the Rock Chick Nation, a series of programs that are designed to give back to her readers and promote a strong female community. You can learn more about Kristen and the Rock Chick Nation on her website.

Connect with Kristen:

Website  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Twitter  |  Amazon  |  Bookbub  |  Goodreads

Sign up for Kristen’s newsletter!

THE GIRLFRIEND ZONE, a sexy new coach’s daughter, one-who-got-away, age-gap, forbidden hockey romance from #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Lauren Blakely, is available now!

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He’s as forbidden to me as I am to him…

In my defense, I had no idea the tattooed, glasses-wearing, soulful hottie I spent one perfect day—and one unforgettable night—with was a hockey star on my father’s team.

And Miles didn’t know I was the coach’s daughter.

That’s the point of a “no-work-talk” date.

But now? He’s as forbidden to me as I am to him.

When I land a new gig as the team photographer, we vow to keep it professional. We mostly succeed…except for that time after a game when he couldn’t keep his talented hands off me. But I swear, it won’t happen again.

Too much is at stake—I can’t risk my heart or my father’s team.

But when I’m asked to dog-sit Miles’s pack of rescue pups for a few weeks, I discover there’s more to him than I ever imagined—a man who’s genuine, thoughtful, and irresistibly real.

He looks at me like he can’t believe his luck. Touches me like he never wants to let go. And listens to my hopes and fears.

My heart’s getting dangerously attached. But if I follow it… am I putting everyone’s dreams on the line?

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Narrated in duet by Samantha Brentmoor & Jason Clarke

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“A perfect blend of sexy, sweet, and emotionally gripping!” ~Danielle, Red Cheeks Reads

Check out Danielle’s 5 SMOOCHES review!

EXCERPT:

“You’re…Miles Falcon,” I say, since I need to voice it out loud, and as I do, the truth hits me with full force. I didn’t put Miles the chef together with Miles Falcon the Sea Dog, because why would I? I legit thought he was a chef; I don’t study the pictures of the players on my dad’s team. I haven’t been to a game in a while, since I studied abroad the year I think he joined, and, well, I’ve been pretty busy in the last year too. “You don’t look like a hockey player. You look like…” I flap my hands at him, still adding up how the hell this misunderstanding has happened. “Well, you look like a chef. With the boots and the black and the glasses.”

He sighs heavily. “Yeah, well, I only cook for fun. I play hockey for work. And I thought you knew.”

“How would I know?” I’m nearly shouting. “I don’t memorize pictures of the players.”

Also, hello! He plays hockey. He’s not a movie star. But that’s rude to point out.

Miles holds up his hands in surrender, clearly frustrated with himself now. “I don’t know what I thought. I guess I thought maybe you knew I played hockey and didn’t care. Or that you just…didn’t care what I do.”

“I didn’t care about what you do…until I found out you worked for my father,” I say, sputtering.

“Shit, shit. This is terrible.” He shakes his head, not even bothering with the spilled artichokes and glass on the floor. “I can’t believe I did this. I can’t believe I slept with the coach’s daughter.”

About Lauren Blakely:

A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s sexy, feel-good and witty. Her books have been featured in US Weekly and People. Lauren likes dogs, cake and show tunes and she is the vegetarian at your dinner party.

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