A California Christmas by Brenda Novak

 

A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS – Brenda Novak

A Silver Springs Novel #7

Mira Books

ISBN: 978-0-778-6103-9

October 2020

Contemporary Romance

 

Silver Springs, California – Present Day

 

Up and coming news anchor Emery Bliss grew up in Silver Springs and thought she’d left the town behind when she got hired in Los Angeles. However, she is blindsided by revenge porn put on the internet by what she assumes is her ex and loses her job at the television station. Emery decides to temporarily return to Silver Springs, though her parents no longer live there, so Emery is staying with family friend Aiyana Turner. Unfortunately, because so many people have seen the sex tape, she is considered notorious and a pariah by those who think she willingly went along with it. She must prove she was set up and repair her image.

 

One morning, Emery comes down to fix breakfast and Aiyanna’s adopted son, Dallas, walks in unexpectedly. Emery and Dallas went to school together, and after he learns about her troubles, offers to help her. She suspects that her ex is the one that uploaded the video even though he denies it, but why should he be the one to keep his job at the station while she got fired?

 

Dallas feels as though he’s at the crossroads of life. He has been a mountain climber his adult life and wonders if it is time to settle down. Aiyana is one of those people who help others in need, especially children. She adopted him after his father murdered Dallas’s mother and sister. What Dallas does not yet realize is that his father has been released from prison—and is wanting to meet him. Aiyana knows, and she plans to do whatever it takes to keep the man away from Dallas.

 

Dallas and Emery knows one another from growing up, but it isn’t until they meet again in A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS that a romance is sparked. Their romance builds slowly as they spend together. First, Emery needs protection from a few people in Silver Springs who want to disparage her reputation, then there is the proposed lawsuit she plans to file against her ex and the station. If she can prove that he was the one who instigated the filming and uploading to the internet, she has a strong case. Dallas is right by her side to help her.

 

Christmas is just around the corner in A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS, as is Aiyanna’s planned marriage to her fiancé a week before the holiday. Readers will be pulled into a tale filled with family love and togetherness. Everyone is willing to help others, with no questions asked. A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS is a small town where everyone knows everybody, and a town Emery felt safe returning to. Though her parents no longer live there, she prefers the quiet solitude of Silver Springs as her parents are in the middle of a contentious divorce and each want Emery’s loyalty.

 

A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS is a perfect holiday read that will leave you warm and content knowing that a happily-ever-after will be the reward. Don’t miss this feelgood tale.

 

Patti Fischer

Claiming The Rancher's Heir by Maisey Yates

 

CLAIMING THE RANCHER’S HEIR – Maisey Yates

Gold Valley Vineyards, Book 2

Harlequin Desire #2767

ISBN: 978-1-335-20943-6

November 2020

Contemporary Series Romance

 

Gold Valley, Oregon – Present Day

 

Wren Maxfield and Creed Cooper seemingly are always at odds as their family’s wineries are competitors in Gold Valley. But hate leads to lust—and a sexual encounter that ignites flames between them. Once Creed has sex with Wren, he can’t get enough of her. But their first tryst was without a condom and Wren ends up pregnant. Creed is shocked at the news but recovers to inform her that they will get married. She refuses because she is not sure they can make a go of a marriage. She wants love and Creed doesn’t appear to in the mood for loving anyone.

 

What Wren doesn’t realize is that an unplanned pregnancy isn’t Creed’s first rodeo. However, things didn’t end well for him the first time and it’s marked him. He won’t let Wren walk away with his baby, though she tells him that she won’t keep him/her away from its father. After much discussion and thinking, she finally agrees to marriage—with some stipulations. Namely, once the baby is born, they will separate. Creed always thought once he got married that it’d be for a lifetime, even if love wasn’t involved. Will the months leading up to the birth of their baby end with Wren and Creed discovering they’re in love?

 

Wren and Creed have been rivals for years, but it isn’t until they square off in CLAIMING THE RANCHER’S HEIR that they discover an attraction that is nearly insatiable. Wren is running her family’s winery and gearing up for a fall festival that requires she work with Creed’s family’s winery. During the heat of an argument, one thing leads to another and she ends up pinned to the wall in a sizzling embrace with him. They try to dance around at first saying that the sex means nothing, but after she confronts him a couple of weeks later about it, both realize they have a mutual attraction. An affair works great for both, but an unplanned pregnancy changes everything.

 

Secretly, Wren hopes she and Creed can work things out after they are married and can have a happily-ever-after. But he is stubborn and feels he can’t give love to a woman—because he doesn’t trust love after giving it once to a woman who flipped his world upside down. Can Wren tame Creed’s wild heart? They are both strong-minded and persistent. Who will win in the tug of war—or love—in CLAIMING THE RANCHER’S HEIR?

 

A fun and sizzling tale that you won’t want to miss, pick up a copy of CLAIMING THE RANCHER’S HEIR.

 

Patti Fischer

The Sinner's Secrets by Kira Sinclair

 

THE SINNER’S SECRET – Kira Sinclair

Bad Billionaires, Book 3

Harlequin Desire #2771

ISBN: 978-1-335-20947-4

November 2020

Contemporary Series Romance

 

Charleston, South Carolina – Present Day

 

After being released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit, billionaire Gray Lockwood plans revenge on the woman whose testimony helped convict him. Blakely Whittaker is hired to work at a security company and is excited about it, but the whole employment process seemed weird. As she sits in her new office awaiting instructions, in walks Gray Lockwood—the man she testified against eight years ago. He informs her that he is one of the three owners of the company, and he has plans for her. Blakely should just get up and walk away, but Gray won’t let her. She has no job and no way to support herself. Gray’s request of her is simple: prove that he didn’t really embezzle millions of dollars from his father’s company.

 

It’s like digging through a haystack looking for a needle, but Blakely takes on the assignment in THE SINNER’S SECRET by Kira Sinclair, the final book in the Bad Billionaires series. Eight years ago, she was only doing the honorable thing in testifying against Gray when she discovered he’d transferred company funds illegally into his personal bank account. He was sent to prison and is now out—and he wants to use her. There is a simmering attraction between them, but how can she keep things businesslike when she hungers for his kisses? Meanwhile, the search is on to locate the culprit behind the crime. Gray didn’t do it, so who did? And why to his account?

 

As Blakely and Gray begin to work closely together, desire rises hot and heavy between them. Once they kiss, there is no going back. Both know where their attraction is headed, but if she can’t prove his innocence, will there always be a barrier preventing them from pursuing a future together? Gray grew up with parents who didn’t love him, so his views on love are always through a jaded lens. But he’s attracted to Blakely and won’t give up until she’s in his bed. He finally gets that opportunity on an exploratory trip to Las Vegas. If they find the evidence clearing him, can they put the past behind them?

 

 THE SINNER’S SECRET has a bit of intrigue—and a few twists and turns that change the premise of the story. For Gray, it soon becomes less about clearing his name and more about exploring the secrets he learns. Blakely is right by his side, but once it is all over, will their affair continue? An intriguing romance, you won’t want to miss THE SINNER’S SECRET.

 

Patti Fischer

Vows In Name Only by Naima Simone

 

VOWS IN NAME ONLY – Naima Simone

Billionaires of Boston, Book 1

Harlequin Desire #2770

ISBN: 978-1-335-20946-7

November 2020

Contemporary Series Romance

 

Boston – Present Day

 

As VOWS IN NAME ONLY opens, Cain Farrell learns after his hated father passes away that not only must he share the estate with two half-brothers that he didn’t know about, but that he must live in the mansion for one year. If he doesn’t comply, then he forfeits the estate. Cain goes along with the terms, and at a party a few days later, runs into a beautiful woman, one he is attracted to. A few days later, a man by the name of Gregory Cole comes into his office and informs him that he has information on Cain’s mother, which he will use as blackmail unless Cain agrees to marry his only daughter, Devon. Cain feels like he’s boxed into a corner because he will do anything to protect his mother. He finally agrees to a loveless marriage, vowing he will never accept the woman into his heart. Then, Devon walks in, and he discovers that she is the woman from the party.

 

Devon is under the control and thumb of her father. Gregory is obsessed with money and power and thinks nothing of using his daughter as a pawn. Devon has managed to find a job at a community center, but her father is threatening to get her fired and destroy the community center if she doesn’t agree to the loveless marriage to Cain Farrell. Forced to protect a cause she loves, she agrees. The realization that Cain is the man she accidentally ran into at the party is stunning. Yet, despite their instant attraction, she knows their future is doomed.

 

It’s a marital recipe for disaster in VOWS IN NAME ONLY by Naima Simone. Growing up, Cain was physically abused by his father and watched his mother put up with verbal abuse. Both finally escaped after Cain graduated from college and he vowed never to set foot in the family mansion again. But the death of his father has the man controlling things from the grave. Cain learns he has two half-brothers and that he must also live in the mansion for one—or lose the inheritance for all three. Cain figures he can take it for year, then move on running the family business. The entrance of Gregory Cole into his life is a shock—and the man is nearly as vile as Cain’s father. Is Devon helping Gregory to commit a con?

 

Unknown to Cain, Devon is a pawn, too, in her father’s schemes. Her love life is hopeless, especially after the last man she loved turned out to be a louse. After she gives in to her father’s blackmail demands—and realizes that it is Cain she must marry—she only hopes that she doesn’t lose her heart to the man she is now attracted to. In VOWS IN NAME ONLY, their relationship certainly starts off on the wrong foot, but can it only get better? And what about the sexual chemistry between them? Will they give in to their mutual attraction?

 

You won’t want to miss VOWS IN NAME ONLY.

 

Patti Fischer

In Bed With His Rival by Katherine Garbera

 

IN BED WITH HIS RIVAL – Katherine Garbera

Texas Cattleman’s Club: Rags to Riches, Book 6

Harlequin Desire #2768

ISBN: 978-1-335-20944-3

November 2020

Contemporary Series Romance

 

Royal & Dallas, Texas – Present Day

 

Brian Cooper and Piper Holloway have known each other for a while as her sister was friends with Brian’s uncle. Brian has to admit that he’s attracted to Piper, despite the fact that she is several years older. At a party, the two dance together, and sparks fly. What’s wrong with a little harmless flirtation? Their attraction sizzles, and it doesn’t take long before they’re having sex. But Piper sees it as only a temporary fling. She feels she can’t offer Brian anything for them to have a future together, even though he wants to see where things go. Add in that her sister and his uncle are no longer friendly with each other, a relationship between them might cause a strain in the families.

 

Piper’s sister and her nieces and nephews are going through a bad time right now. A scandal involving a suspicious fire and subsequential illegal drug bust has their company in jeopardy and the feds investigating. The scandal is even affecting Piper’s art gallery as people don’t want to do business with someone associated with her relatives. Brian and Piper tiptoe around their affair, never quite wanting to end things even as she tells him she can’t see him again. Then Brian learns something that might rip them apart permanently. Does he dare try to fix things, or are things over between them?

 

IN BED WITH HIS RIVAL is about a younger man dating an older woman. There are feelings between Brian and Piper, but she tries to keep him at an arm’s length due to the age difference. It’s up to him to make her feel comfortable about seeing him—first as a friend, then as a lover. Brian and Piper get along really well and make a perfect couple, so why can’t they wait to see where things will go? What about the company scandal? How does it affect them? Brian is one of the few people in Royal who think the Wingates (Piper’s relatives) are decent and the scandal shouldn’t change how they are viewed by others.

 

As stated earlier, IN BED WITH HIS RIVAL has Brian and Piper going back and forth being a couple. Despite being forty, Piper is young at heart, which is probably why Brian is attracted to her. But she sees no future for them. In this tale, we do find out who is behind the company scandal, bringing to a close one of the continuing storylines in this latest Texas Cattleman’s Club series. There are still two more books to go, and they revolve around two more members of the Holloway/Wingate families.

 

A sizzling and engrossing read, don’t miss IN BED WITH HIS RIVAL.

 

Patti Fischer

 

 

Slow Burn by Janice Maynard

 

SLOW BURN – Janice Maynard

Dynasties: Seven Sins, Book 7

Harlequin Desire #2769

ISBN: 978-1-335-20945-0

November 2020

Contemporary Series Romance

 

New York City – Present Day

 

Nikki Reardon and Jake Lowell knew each other growing up in Falling Brook, New Jersey, but both left town after a huge scandal involving their fathers left them in shock and embarrassed. Five years ago, Nikki and Jake happened to run into one another in a casino in Atlantic City and had a one-night stand. He has been out of the country, but now he is back after his runaway felon father was arrested. The old scandal has been front-page news again, with an added twist: an anonymous letter claims that there is a secret Lowell baby. Jake’s twin brother, Joshua, was implicated first, but since he wasn’t involved with anyone during the time frame, he confronts Jake. Did Jake have sex with another woman around five years ago?

 

Jake seeks out Nikki—and learns that indeed, she did give birth to his daughter, Emma, a rambunctious four-year-old. She never planned to let him know; instead, she would raise Emma alone with the help of her mother. Jake offers her financial assistance, which she resists, even though the money would help. Jake plans to stick around until his father is sentenced to prison, which allows him time to get to know Emma. But being around Nikki rekindles the old desire he felt for her, the one that led them to sleep together five years ago. Jake has no plans to settle down, so how can Nikki let him back into her life—because she has had feelings for him since they were teenagers.

 

In SLOW BURN, Jake has let his resentment and anger toward his father color his personality. He was raised alongside Joshua and their brother, Oliver, in an affluent lifestyle, but that all came crashing down after their father stole from the investment company he ran and disappeared. But now his father has been captured and will finally face the consequences of his bad deeds. Will it finally allow the brothers to close the book on what happened to them years ago? Or will the acrimony continue to color their futures? At least for Joshua and Oliver, they have each found a woman to share a life with. Jake, on the other hand, thinks he couldn’t ever fall in love. Yet, he still finds himself attracted to Nikki. She is like the girl he left behind…

 

Nikki grapples with her feelings for Jake in SLOW BURN. She wanted to leave with him when he first left fifteen years ago, but he turned her down. She thought she had a second chance with him five years ago. After getting her heart burned a second time, Nikki has no plans to try a third time. Emma is too important for Nikki to have both end up heartbroken when Jake leaves once again. Yet, that sizzling chemistry can’t be denied. Can Jake finally make peace with his past so that he can move on?

 

SLOW BURN is about a couple reunited, and an acceptance of the past. Don’t miss this intriguing tale.

Patti Fischer

 

 

All He Wants for Christmas by Karen Booth

 

ALL HE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS – Karen Booth

The Sterling Wives, Book 3

Harlequin Desire #2772

ISBN: 978-1-335-20948-1

November 2020

Contemporary Series Romance

 

San Diego, California – Present Day

 

For months, real estate developer Andrew Sterling was secretly interfering in his brother’s acquisition of property for a new building. Then his brother unexpectedly died, leaving behind a widow, Miranda. Andrew never went to his brother’s funeral because they were estranged, but one day he does go to pay his respects to Miranda—meets her for the first time, discovering that she is pregnant with his niece. It is then that Andrew decides to drop his plan, but there is a hitch: his partner in the crime doesn’t want to stop, and the man continues to make trouble. Andrew doesn’t want to see Miranda suffering, so he tries to stop his former partner, but he has gone “underground.”

 

Miranda learns that Andrew is in San Diego and contacts him, even suggesting that he stay with her while he’s in town. He accepts her offer, even as he realizes that he’s beginning to find himself attracted to her. At first, Andrew is secretly working to head off his former partner and save the Sterling Company deal, but he eventually tells Miranda and her brother, Clay, and both agree to help him. Living with Miranda in her house makes the attraction between them even more intense, but will it lead to something more?

 

Andrew has a secret in ALL HE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS by Karen Booth. He had a contentious relationship with his brother, Johnathon, and when he saw an opportunity to ruin the Seaport deal, he pushed his plan forward with the help of an ally. But things fell apart after his brother died and he later met Miranda. Can Andrew now right the wrong? Will she believe him that he means no harm? What about the sexual chemistry that sizzles between them?

 

Miranda was swept off her feet by Johnathon and married him quickly, even though she was his third wife. In The Sterling Wives series, we have met the three wives: Tara, Astrid, and now, Miranda. The three women are now joint partners in the company left to them by Johnathon. Miranda is pregnant, with her baby due in February. As ALL HE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS opens, Thanksgiving is around the corner. Will they share the holiday together? Will Miranda and Andrew fall in love? Can the Seaport project be saved?

 

An unlikely duo discovers a mutual attraction that can’t be denied. There is a bit of intrigue in the background in ALL HE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS. Will they find their way to a happily-ever-after? Find out by reading this tale.

 

Patti Fischer

Looking for a Cowboy by Donna Grant

 

LOOKING FOR A COWBOY – Donna Grant

Heart of Texas, Book 5

St. Martin’s Paperbacks

ISBN: 9781250250063

October 27, 2020

Contemporary Romance

 

Clearview, Texas – Present Day

 

Private Investigator Marlee Frampton has come to Clearview in search of a baby she suspects was stolen from its murdered mother. The Harpers look like any ordinary couple wanting to adopt, but is the baby they recently received from the adoption agency the baby Marlee is looking for? She must lay low to some extent, because if she reveals her hand too soon, the couple might bolt. Even as she gets to know the people in Clearview, she soon becomes the focus of them.

 

Cowboy Cooper Owens is curious about the stranger in town. Marlee is a beautiful and sassy redhead and he wouldn’t mind getting to know her better. But he senses she’s in town on a mission—and one that might put his friends, Brice and Naomi Harper, into her crosshairs. With the help of his law enforcement friend, Cooper learns that Marlee is a PI who specializes in baby abductions. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure how who she is zeroing in on. He confronts her, and offers to help her, if only to prove to her that she’s looking at the wrong baby. Will Marlee and Cooper work together to solve the baby abduction case?

 

Meanwhile, Marlee wonders if she is being misled by her sources, and if so, why? Also, why does Clearview seem to be in the middle of where all the recent baby abductions and murders occurred? Are the perpetrators in the area?

 

LOOKING FOR A COWBOY is billed as a contemporary romance, but it has a fairly heavy dose of romantic suspense. This tale is less about “cowboys” and more about “finding kidnappers and murderers.” Not to give anything away, but readers learn about halfway through who the “bad guys” are—and how Clearview is connected. The moment Marlee and Cooper meet, there is a pleasant zing of attraction between them. Yet, she feels she doesn’t have time to get involved with him, especially since he’s good friends with her targets. Can she convince him that she means no harm and only wants to get the DNA on the infant to make sure it isn’t the missing baby?

 

Marlee senses someone is watching her, and readers will wonder that too. After she and Cooper finally begin to trust one another, things move pretty fast between them. He also enlists the help of his friends, specifically his best friend, Jace, to assist. Tracking down cold-blooded murderers who kidnap a baby and leave the dead mother behind are people who need to be brought to justice. But as soon as they start to investigate, a couple of people in the Clearview area become nervous. Will our investigators end up walking into an ambush?

 

LOOKING FOR A COWBOY is an engrossing tale that will have you unable to put it down. Marlee has spent ten years investigating infant snatchings, solely because her sister was murdered, and her baby taken from her womb. The ultimate goal is finding her missing niece. Will Marlee find her in LOOKING FOR A COWBOY? Will the murderers be brought to justice? Once it’s all over, can there be a future for Marlee and Cooper? Find out in this riveting tale.

 

Patti Fischer