No stepbrother deserves a first chance, much less a second...

*** Brooklyn ***

I'm a spirited, athletic community college student from New Jersey, traveling to attend my mother's Hawaiian wedding to a wealthy land developer. If I meet a charming man who stirs my interest while I'm on the beach or in the pool, I might just take a chance...

You know the rest... when I hook-up with a gorgeous bronze surf instructor any caution remaining in me drops straight to the bottom of the sea...

I'm an eager audience for his sweet words. I'm convinced he adores my show-stopping red hair and unsinkable style. His lagoon blue eyes bedazzle me so completely that the word regret loses all meaning...

Until later that same night when I discover his father is the man marrying my mother...

And that he's escorting a tall gorgeous blonde in a strapless sheath dress to the rehearsal dinner...

And that he still has enough brass in his balls to hit on me at the wedding reception...!

When I feel his molten arms around my waist, my blood heats up so quickly that I vent steam whiter than his dinner jacket into the blue night...

Just who does my new stepbrother Adam Seabrook think he is?

He even makes it impossible for me to scream at him in frustration. How can I, when our lips are locked together as tight as a chowder clam?

And even if there might be something special between Adam and me, it doesn't guarantee us a happily ever after. My best solution is to put a wide ocean between us. But my plan isn't dialing down my summery heat even one degree...

My heart argues: Give Adam a chance. My head answers: No stepbrother deserves a first chance, much less a second...

***Hilo is an XOXO Stepbrother MC Standalone Novel. HEA. No cheating. ***

A Top 10 Kindle Bestseller from a New York Times Bestselling Author!
England, 1673: The Ashcroft family motto is "Question Convention," and wallflower Violet Ashcroft agrees with the sentiment completely. For one thing, she's not planning to marry. Plain Violet is smart enough to realize any suitors would be after her large inheritance, or else interested in her beautiful younger sisters--and she'd much rather spend her time improving her mind than risking her tender heart...

Having wasted six years wooing a lady who eloped with another man, Ford Chase, Viscount Lakefield, has had it with women. Ford would much rather spend his time pursuing the sciences and constructing the first watch with a minute hand. Having his young niece dropped in his lap proves an unwelcome, annoying distraction...until an uncommonly intelligent neighbor named Violet comes to help...

BOOK DETAILS

• Humorous historical romance
• Book Five of Lauren Royal's beloved Chase Family Series
• Special Author's Cut Edition
• A full-length novel of 104,000 words (about 416 printed book pages)
• R-rated content: Steamy love scenes!
• Originally published by Penguin Putnam (Signet Books)

This Author's Cut Edition e-book has been completely revised from the original and includes Bonus Material: an Author's Note, a preview of Lauren's next book, and a link to an online contest where you can enter to win a piece of jewelry featured in one of Lauren's books.

AWARDS

• Top 10 Bestseller on Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, and Google Play!
• Rose Award Nominee!

CONNECTING BOOKS

While VIOLET can be read as a stand-alone novel, many readers enjoy reading it as part of a series. All of Lauren's books feature Chase family members. 

Some very strange things are taking place at the New Pueblo Funeral Home…
War vet Ray Zook, a PTSD afflicted former grunt, is about to regret that he ever set foot in Tucson, Arizona.
All he wants is to gain the courage to face his inner-demons and somehow explain to the widow of his best friend what really happened to him during their stint in the military. But when Zook is mugged and takes a temporary job working the night-shift at a crematory run by a couple of unsavory employees, those plans get derailed.
After witnessing a series of disturbing incidents—like the shady “after hours” business taking place—that hurl him into an immoral world of grave robbing, coffin swapping, and even disappearing bodies, Zook finds himself caught in the middle of a twisted power-struggle to control ownership of the funeral home.
If Zook hopes to escape this utter mess with his sanity intact, he must rise above his fears and confront the dark deeds before he ends up back in the looney bin . . . for good this time.

Descended of the powerful sons of MacAlpin, Iain MacKinnon refuses to bow to the English. But when his young son is captured, the fierce Scottish chieftain vows to stop at nothing to secure the lad's return. Retaliating in kind, he captures the daughter of his enemy, planning to bargain with the devil.

FitzSimon's daughter has lived her entire life in the shadows of the man she called father—yet never would she have imagined he would deny his only daughter. Even as Page blames her captor for welching on a contract with her father, she suspects the truth... the shadows hold secrets. Now only the love of her reluctant champion can save the MacKinnon's Bride.

This book begins the Highland Brides series.

**Protecting Caroline is a stand-alone love story. It’s Book 1 in the SEAL of Protection Series.**

Matthew “Wolf” Steel hated flying commercial. Luckily his job as a Navy SEAL meant he didn’t have to do it very often. He’d been unlucky enough to be assigned a middle seat on the cramped jet, but fortunately for him, the woman next to him was willing to switch seats with him. Hoping for a relaxing flight, Wolf was pleasantly surprised at the good conversation and sense of humor the woman had as they flew 36,000 feet over the countryside.

When Caroline boarded the plane to Virginia to move across the country for her new job she never expected to be seated next to the hottest guy she’d ever seen. She also never expected he’d be so easy to talk to. She knew he’d never be interested in talking to her if he hadn’t been trapped in the seat next to her, but it was a nice way to spend a long plane ride.

Neither Wolf nor Caroline were prepared for a terrorist hijacking of their plane, but if Caroline thought that would be the last time she’d see, or need, Wolf, she’d be sorely mistaken.

Start the SEAL of Protection Series with Caroline and Wolf's story

Josiah Reynolds is tracking down the disappearance of an old friend’s son. But while she is chasing a missing person, O’nan is hot on Josiah’s trail chasing her. And he is threatening, conniving, and blackmailing others to help destroy the woman he thinks ruined his life. Will he finally succeed?

Or will Josiah outwit him as she has always done?

One thing is for sure . . . when Josiah and O’nan finally clash at the Cumberland Falls, will justice be done? As Josiah always says - there is the law and then there is Kentucky justice.

Will Josiah survive the thundering and treacherous waters of the Cumberland Falls or will O'nan finally push our brave Josiah over the edge?

A sharp-shooting SWAT team, a Venezuelan producer of alcoholic love potions, and an audacious subway rat are among the cast of characters award-winning author Darrin DuFord encounters in Breakfast for Alligators: Quests, Showdowns, and Revelations in the Americas. Through such mediums as public transit, cuisine, urban wildlife, and music, DuFord (author of Is There a Hole in the Boat? Tales of Travel in Panama Without a Car, 2007 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards silver medalist) has created a collection of insightful pieces that expose the desires and realities shaping landscapes from Chile to Canada. From surviving a journey in a homemade submarine off the coast of Honduras to receiving a lesson in aging from the street art of Valparaiso, DuFord's lively, engaging narratives show how travel has the ability to illuminate cultures while unleashing their bottomless complexities.

Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Wild thought that living in the chaos of her mother's home daycare and dealing with new feelings for Bryce, her martial arts instructor, was a struggle until her world turned upside down. When an untested vaccine kills more than just a rampant flu virus, Cassie learns how to survive in a world where the dead walk and the living... run!

This YA story is a lighthearted adventure filled with zombies, butt-kicking teenaged girls, a man obsessed with video games, an annoying but totally HOT karate instructor, and humor when needed.

Includes -
Origins
Running Wild
Dead Endz
Road Kill
End Zone

This version contains graphic language, violence, and adult situations. Intended for ages 17 and older.

Ebook Cover by Creative Paramita

He doesn’t do anything half way … in bed or out.

And when Dylan Rhodes, Travel Director for the Miami Thunder football team, decides to pursue Olivia Dare, he goes all in. When the Pro-Bowl takes them to the desert oasis of Arizona, Dylan is determined to make sure their time together isn’t all business. What happens while at the luxury resort is life altering but when Olivia admits her deepest secret, will Dylan be able to prove he’s a man with staying power? Or will Olivia be disappointed again, this time by the most important man in her life?
*Same book - new cover!

A classic romance, suspense thriller, rip-roaring adventure, and macabre comedy all at once, Dearly, Departed redefines the concept of undying love.
 
CAN A PROPER YOUNG VICTORIAN LADY FIND TRUE LOVE IN THE ARMS OF A DASHING ZOMBIE?
 
The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the mores of an antique era. Sixteen-year-old Nora Dearly is far more interested in her country’s political unrest than in silly debutante balls. But the death of her beloved parents leaves Nora at the mercy of a social-climbing aunt who plans to marry off her niece for money. To Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses. Now she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting a fatal virus that raises the dead. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and thoroughly deceased. But like the rest of his special undead unit, Bram has been enabled by luck and modern science to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Lia Habel's Dearly, Beloved.
 
“Heart-pounding . . . Nora and Bram’s touching and tender relationship, with its emphasis on equality and living in the moment, feels particularly special.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“Absolutely spellbinding . . . full of ingenious inventions and dynamic characters.”—RT Book Reviews
 
“A zombie romance? You bet.”—Library Journal
 

This #1 bestselling legal thriller from Michael Connelly is a stunning display of novelistic mastery - as human, as gripping, and as whiplash-surprising as any novel yet from the writer Publishers Weekly has called "today's Dostoevsky of crime literature."

Mickey Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers - they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence, it's about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it's even about justice.

A Beverly Hills playboy arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar chooses Haller to defend him, and Mickey has his first high-paying client in years. It is a defense attorney's dream, what they call a franchise case. And as the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe this may be the easiest case of his career. Then someone close to him is murdered and Haller discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, he must deploy every tactic, feint, and instinct in his arsenal - this time to save his own life.

In the tradition of his beloved first novel, The Notebook, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with the remarkable story of two couples whose lives intersect in profound and surprising ways.

Ira Levinson is in trouble. Ninety-one years old and stranded and injured after a car crash, he struggles to retain consciousness until a blurry image materializes beside him: his beloved wife Ruth, who passed away nine years ago. Urging him to hang on, she forces him to remain alert by recounting the stories of their lifetime together - how they met, the precious paintings they collected together, the dark days of WWII and its effect on them and their families. Ira knows that Ruth can't possibly be in the car with him, but he clings to her words and his memories, reliving the sorrows and everyday joys that defined their marriage.

A few miles away, at a local bull-riding event, a Wake Forest College senior's life is about to change. Recovering from a recent break-up, Sophia Danko meets a young cowboy named Luke, who bears little resemblance to the privileged frat boys she has encountered at school. Through Luke, Sophia is introduced to a world in which the stakes of survival and success, ruin and reward -- even life and death - loom large in everyday life. As she and Luke fall in love, Sophia finds herself imagining a future far removed from her plans -- a future that Luke has the power to rewrite . . . if the secret he's keeping doesn't destroy it first.

Ira and Ruth. Sophia and Luke. Two couples who have little in common, and who are separated by years and experience. Yet their lives will converge with unexpected poignancy, reminding us all that even the most difficult decisions can yield extraordinary journeys: beyond despair, beyond death, to the farthest reaches of the human heart.

** Get MISTER BLACK, book 1, in the thrilling and seductive New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling series for FREE for a limited time! **

See why readers are calling Sebastian and Talia's journey "an epic love story you won't be able to put down."

When Talia crashes a masked party, the charismatic and dominant Mister Black is the one man who can either help or expose her. Neither can deny their attraction, but what happens when one hot night together turns into so much more...

We all have someone who crossed our path and fundamentally changed us. That one person who blew through our lives, their presence forever stamped on our psyche. They linger in our thoughts, in our hearts, and in the decisions we make. A soul crusher or a dream maker, depending on the perspective.

My person is Mister Black.

I didn't know him by that name when I first met him.

I didn't know him at all, but the impression he left behind was just as powerful as the name I call him today.

He is Black: a deadly enforcer and masterful seducer.

I am Red: a justice bleeder and willing participant.

Together we are passion. Colors colliding through each other's lives.

When our secrets converge in a passionate encounter, stepping out of the shadows just might be worth the risk.

NOTE: MISTER BLACK is meant for readers 18+ due to mature content. This is part 1 in the IN THE SHADOWS series and is 154 print pages. The series must be read in the following order: MISTER BLACK (Part 1, 154 print pages novella), SCARLETT RED (Part 2, 275 print pages novel), and BLACKEST RED (Part 3, 371 print pages novel). All three books in Sebastian and Talia's epic love story are now available.

In March of 2002, while the eyes of the world focused on Afghanistan, Jack Noble finds himself on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq. A Marine in name only, Jack is on-loan to the CIA. Normally an integral part of the team, he finds that he is nothing more than a security detail in Iraq.

Wicked Summer follows the Bloom family as they spend a once in a lifetime vacation at Cape Harriet, a charming seaside town on Virginia's scenic Eastern Shore.

All Mary Bloom ever wanted was to celebrate her 60th birthday at the beach. The extended Bloom family converges at the Rising Tides Inn, where their slightest whim is catered to.

Forty something Iris is the perfect suburban mom, holding her four kids and husband on a tight leash. 36 year old Hyacinth is single, successful and the self-proclaimed brains of the family. At 26, Poppy is a top travel blogger, wandering across countries most people only dream of visiting.


The rivalry among the sisters is as strong as ever, and each sister is dealing with it in her own way. So while Iris taunts and needles, Hyacinth takes the high road and shows disdain. Poppy suffers silently, lost in her own inner turmoil. None of them has an inkling of the storm that is about to break loose in their lives.


Soft shell crabs and salt marshes will be forgotten as shocking secrets are revealed. Everyone seems to be guilty of hiding something.


Set in idyllic Cape Harriet, Wicked Summer takes the reader on a thrilling roller coaster ride with plenty of laughs, tears and intrigue with heart warming moments, scrumptious food and never a dull moment.

This time, love may not conquer all.

A simple mistake with tragic consequences.

A country falling apart from the top down. Riots stalk the streets. Science and law are suffocating myth and religion.

Corporal Rick Franklin is torn away from his young family, and sent to a ruined castle on Aijlan’s restless border. While helping monitor a terrorist threat, he makes a terrible mistake.

His mistake is buried, and Rick becomes a reluctant hero for a president that is soon overthrown. As he tries to ensure his family's safety, and deal with the persistent advances of an old lover, Rick stumbles across the murderous truth behind the Silk Revolution.

Part political thriller, part dystopian fiction, part tragic love story, Aijlan is a riveting page-turner where intrigue and suspense dance with loyalty and betrayal.

Will Rick Franklin walk the easy path, or risk everything for what he knows to be right?

“THE SORCERER’S RING has all the ingredients for an instant success: plots, counterplots, mystery, valiant knights, and blossoming relationships replete with broken hearts, deception and betrayal. It will keep you entertained for hours, and will satisfy all ages. Recommended for the permanent library of all fantasy readers.”
--Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos

The #1 Bestseller!

From #1 Bestselling author Morgan Rice comes the debut of a dazzling new fantasy series. A QUEST OF HEROES (BOOK #1 IN THE SORCERER’S RING) revolves around the epic coming of age story of one special boy, a 14 year old from a small village on the outskirts of the Kingdom of the Ring. The youngest of four, the least favorite of his father, hated by his brothers, Thorgrin senses he is different from the others. He dreams of becoming a great warrior, of joining the King’s men and protecting the Ring from the hordes of creatures on the other side of the Canyon. When he comes of age and is forbidden by his father to try out for the King’s Legion, he refuses to take no for an answer: he journeys out on his own, determined to force his way into King’s Court and be taken seriously.

But King’s Court is rife with its own family dramas, power struggles, ambitions, jealousy, violence and betrayal. King MacGil must choose an heir from amongst his children, and the ancient Dynasty Sword, the source of all their power, still sits untouched, waiting for the chosen one to arrive. Thorgrin arrives as an outsider and battles to be accepted, and to join the King’s Legion.

Thorgrin comes to learn he has mysterious powers he does not understand, that he has a special gift, and a special destiny. Against all odds he falls in love with the king’s daughter, and as their forbidden relationship blossoms, he discovers he has powerful rivals. As he struggles to make sense of his powers, the king’s sorcerer takes him under his wing and tells him of a mother he never knew, in a land far away, beyond the Canyon, beyond even the land of the Dragons.

Before Thorgrin can venture out and become the warrior he yearns to be, he must complete his training. But this may be cut short, as he finds himself propelled into the center of royal plots and counterplots, ones that may threaten his love and bring him down—and the entire kingdom with him.

With its sophisticated world-building and characterization, A QUEST OF HEROES is an epic tale of friends and lovers, of rivals and suitors, of knights and dragons, of intrigues and political machinations, of coming of age, of broken hearts, of deception, ambition and betrayal. It is a tale of honor and courage, of fate and destiny, of sorcery. It is a fantasy that brings us into a world we will never forget, and which will appeal to all ages and genders. It is 82,000 words.

Books #2--#17 in the series are now also available!

“[An] entertaining epic fantasy.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“The beginnings of something remarkable are there.”
--San Francisco Book Review

“Action-packed …. Rice's writing is solid and the premise intriguing.”
--Publishers Weekly

“A spirited fantasy ….Only the beginning of what promises to be an epic young adult series.”
--Midwest Book Review

**From NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling Author Lisa Mondello**

Named one of KIRKUS REVIEWS Best Indie Books of 2012!

"Mondello's latest, a pulse-pounding, pitch-perfect addition to the romantic suspense genre...Terrific escapist entertainment, as good as anything in Janet Evanovich's oeuvre." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Contemporary Romantic Suspense Novel featuring a sexy police officer and a crime novelist in jeopardy: 70,000 words

BOOK 1 of the Heroes of Providence series.

Who does she trust when the horror of one of her crime novels turns into a deadly reality?

Bestselling crime novelist, Cassie Alvarez, aka Cassie Lang, had murder on her mind when she walked into Rory's Bar under dressed and under cover to research her latest crime novel. Researching the cool, blue-eyed and dashingly handsome man at the end of the bar stirred her senses more than she wanted to admit. But was this man of leather armor all he appeared to be?

Playing White Knight to an innocent wasn't how Detective Jake Santos planned to spend his time under cover. But there was no way "CJ" was what she claimed to be and that nagging tightness in Jake's chest told him he'd better take her home to safety and leave it at that. Then the barroom exploded with gunfire, leaving a trail of dead that includes a notorious Providence organized crime boss and an undercover FBI agent. When Cassie’s name is leaked to the media as the only witness to the grisly murders, Cassie insists she only trusts Jake to protect her.

The FBI wants their star witness happy and will do anything to make sure Cassie testifies. But someone wants vigilante justice and it is clear to Jake that the shooter isn’t the only person who wants Cassie dead. Not knowing who to trust, he vows to protect Cassie at all cost despite the fact that guarding the beautiful novelist is a serious distraction.

A tour de force that echoes modern classics like Suite Francaise and The Postmistress.

"Housekeeper or housewife?" the soldier asks Silvana as she and eight- year-old Aurek board the ship that will take them from Poland to England at the end of World War II. There her husband, Janusz, is already waiting for them at the little house at 22 Britannia Road. But the war has changed them all so utterly that they'll barely recognize one another when they are reunited. "Survivor," she answers.

Silvana and Aurek spent the war hiding in the forests of Poland. Wild, almost feral Aurek doesn't know how to tie his own shoes or sleep in a bed. Janusz is an Englishman now-determined to forget Poland, forget his own ghosts from the way, and begin a new life as a proper English family. But for Silvana, who cannot escape the painful memory of a shattering wartime act, forgetting is not a possibility.

One of the most searing debuts to come along in years, 22 Britannia Road. is the wrenching chronicle of how these damaged people try to become, once again, a true family. An unforgettable novel that cries out for discussion, it is a powerful story of primal maternal love, overcoming hardship, and, ultimately, acceptance-one that will pierce your heart.

If you want to learn about one of history’s most fascinating minds and uncover some of his secrets of imagination—secrets that enabled him to invent machines light years ahead of his time and literally bring light to the world—then you want to read this book.

Imagination amplifies and colors every other element of genius, and unlocks our potential for understanding and ability.

It’s no coincidence that geniuses not only dare to dream of the impossible for their work, but do the same for their lives. They’re audacious enough to think that they’re not just ordinary players.

Few stories better illustrate this better than the life of the father of the modern world, a man of legendary imaginative power and wonder: Nikola Tesla.

In this book, you’ll be taken on a whirlwind journey through Tesla’s life and work, and not only learn about the successes and mistakes of one of history’s greatest inventors, but also how to look at the world in a different, more imaginative way.

Read this book now and learn lessons from Nikola Tesla on why imagination is so vital to awakening your inner genius, and insights into the real “secret” to creativity, as explained by people like Jobs, Picasso, Dali, and Twain.