The Pleasure of Reading Today

Today we are celebrating the release of KNOX by Brenda Rothert by participating in the blog tour. This is a contemporary romance, and it is the fourth, standalone title in the Chicago Blaze hockey romance series. Purchase your copy now!

Purchase KNOX Now

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Knox by Brenda Rothert

Available Now | Chicago Blaze, #4

Purchase KNOX Now:

Amazon | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books

Book Blurb

Reese

I’m done.

Getting ditched at the altar is nothing compared to being humiliated there in front of three hundred shocked guests. Apparently I’m no good at spotting the signs your man’s a cheating liar. So I set off solo on my honeymoon to Hawaii, where I realize I’ve got this life thing down just fine on my own.

Friendships and laughter? Yes.

Adventures? Absolutely.

But relationships? Hell no. Never again.

Knox

I’m a man of few words. My reputation as a moody prick is deserved, but only the handful of people who really know me see the man beneath the professional mask.

I’m a protector. A warrior. That part is true. But the world doesn’t get to see the rest of me. And women don’t seem to mind my gruff exterior—my bed’s always warm.

I’m content with life—loving it, even—or so I thought. But when I meet a beautiful pastry chef with a broken heart and a smile that softens me down to my soul, I realize I wasn’t really content at all before her.

I only wish I had the words to let her know.

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EXCERPT

Mrs. Eric Darnell. I’ve practiced saying it and writing it, but it still doesn’t feel real. There’s a part of me that’s still scared, but this is the right thing. After nine years together, where else can our relationship go?

At the sound of a sniffle, I turn to my maid of honor, my best friend Mandy, who’s already crying. I never knew her to be a softie. The ceremony hasn’t really even started yet. She takes a tissue out from around her bouquet and wipes the corners of her eyes.

“Before we begin the ceremony, let us pray,” the pastor says.

“Hang on,” Eric blurts out.

Did he just say hang on as our wedding ceremony was about to start? My heart skips several beats as I look around to see what’s going on. Is there a medical emergency? Why else would Eric go off script?

The pastor and I both stare at him as he closes his eyes and grimaces.

“I’m sorry,” he says, sighing as he opens his eyes and lets go of my hands.

As my hands drop to my sides, an icy shiver zips down my spine. He let go. I only asked him for one thing when we talked on the phone this morning, honoring the tradition of not seeing each other on our wedding day. Hold onto my hands the entire time.

The church is still, everyone seeming to hold their breath as they wait for Eric to speak. My heart races and my hands start to shake as I realize something’s not right here. There’s no medical emergency.

“Reese.” Eric’s tone is both apologetic and pleading. “I need to tell you something. I want to go into this marriage with a clean conscience.”

I swallow back the bile that rises in my throat. This can’t be happening. In all my worst-case scenarios about what could go wrong on my wedding day, I never imagined this.

I worried I’d be having a heavy period today. That I’d trip on my way down the aisle and face plant in front of everyone. Or that the last week of stress eating would catch up with me and my dress wouldn’t zip up.

But this? Never this.

Eric lets out a shaky breath and says, “Please forgive me. I did something so stupid.”

Mandy’s crying intensifies. I feel like I could pass out at any second.

“Uh…” the pastor looks between me and Eric. “Do you two want to step out for a moment?”

“What did you do?” I ask Eric, my voice nearly a whisper.

The sound and scent of the ocean has vanished. I can only feel my racing heart and a creeping sense of complete dread.

“So now it was stupid?” Mandy demands loudly. “Eight months together and you’re saying it was a mistake?”

The guests collectively gasp.

As it sets in, I’m too stunned to even breathe. Eric. Fucked. Mandy. A lot.

My bouquet falls to the ground, making a whooshing sound as it hits. My breathing is more of a pant now, an angry, breathy pant with a growl now surfacing.

PREVIOUS BOOKS IN THE SERIES

Purchase ANTON Now:

Amazon | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books

Purchase LUCA Now:

Amazon | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books

Purchase VICTOR Now:

Amazon | Nook | Kobo | Apple Books

REVIEW

This series keeps getting better and better.

Knox was a joy to read. He was such a sweet, caring guy that I loved him from beginning to end. I simply adored how understanding he was with Reese and her trust issues. I completely understood Reese's hesitation to start a new relationship, it's very hard to give your heart to a man when you've been betrayed by the person who was supposed to be your forever.

Knox and Reese have great chemistry and their first encounter in Hawaii is full of heat and sensuality. While Reese was resistant to give her heart to Knox, he knew from the beginning that she was it for him. The more she pushed him away, the more he went after her while respecting the space she needed to realize that Knox was the man for her. I admired both of the main characters passion for their respective careers and the causes that were important to them.

As usual with Ms. Rothert the writing is flawless and the character development is strong. I can't wait for the next installment of this series, it's the bad boy's turn and this one is going to be a hot one.

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Brenda Rothert is an Illinois native who was a print journalist for nine years. She made the jump from fact to fiction in 2013 and never looked back. From new adult to steamy contemporary romance, Brenda creates fresh characters in every story she tells. She’s a lover of Diet Coke, chocolate, lazy weekends and happily ever afters.

AUTHOR LINKS

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Wattpad | Amazon

Dirty Letters

Release Date: 11/05/2019

A Contemporary Romance Novel

New York Times Bestselling Authors Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward

EXCERPT REVEAL:

The small dining room table had a pile of mail. I’d had Dad’s mail forwarded to my house, so mostly it was just catalogs and junk. Once a month, Mrs. Cascio sent me everything that arrived, even though I’d told her it wasn’t necessary. I mindlessly fingered through the pile, not expecting to see anything worth keeping. But I stopped at an envelope addressed to me—well, not me, but Luca Ryan. That was a name I hadn’t heard in a long time. In second grade, my teacher, Mrs. Ryan, started a pen pal writing program with a small town in England. We weren’t allowed to use our real last names for safety reasons, so the entire class used her last name—hence I was Luca Ryan. I checked out the return address for the sender’s name.

G. Quinn

Wow, really? It couldn’t be.

I squinted at the postmark. It was from a PO box in California, not England, but I didn’t know any other Quinn other than Griffin. And the handwriting did look pretty familiar. But it had been close to eight years since we’d exchanged letters. Why would he write now? Curious, I ripped it open and scanned right to the bottom of the letter for the name. Sure enough, it was from Griffin. I started at the beginning.

Dear Luca,

Do you like scotch? I remember you said you didn’t like the taste of beer. But we never did get around to comparing our taste in hard liquor. Why is that, you might ask? Let me remind you—because you stopped answering my letters eight damn years ago. I wanted to let you know, I’m still pissed off about that. My mum used to say I hold grudges. But I prefer to think of it as I remember the facts. And the fact of the matter is, you suck. There, I’ve said it. I’ve been holding that shit in for a long time. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not obsessive or anything. I don’t sit in my house thinking about you all day long. In fact, there have been months that go by when thoughts of you don’t even enter my brain. But then some random thing will pop into my head out of the blue. Like I’ll see some kid in a pram eating black licorice, and I’ll think of you. Side note—I’ve tried it again as an adult, and I still think it tastes like the bottom of my shoe, so perhaps it’s that you just have no taste. You probably don’t even like scotch. Anyway, I’m sure this letter won’t find its way to you. Or if by some miracle it does, you won’t answer. But if you’re reading this, you should know two things.

1. The Macallan 1926 is worth the extra cash. Goes down smooth.

2. You SUCK.

Later, traitor, Griffin

What in the hell?

PURCHASE LINKS

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BLURB

I’d never forgotten him—a man I’d yet to meet.

Griffin Quinn was my childhood pen pal, the British boy who couldn’t have been more different from me. Over the years, through hundreds of letters, we became best friends, sharing our deepest, darkest secrets and forming a connection I never thought could break.

Until one day it did.

Then, out of the blue, a new letter arrived. A scathing one—one with eight years of pent-up anger. I had no choice but to finally come clean as to why I stopped writing.

Griffin forgave me, and somehow we were able to rekindle our childhood connection. Only now we were adults, and that connection had grown to a spark. Our letters quickly went from fun to flirty to downright dirty, revealing our wildest fantasies. So it only made sense that we would take our relationship to the next level and see each other in person.

Only Griff didn’t want to meet. He asked that I trust him and said it was for the best. But I wanted more—more Griff, in the flesh—so I took a big chance and went looking for him. People have done crazier things for love.

But what I found could change everything.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

VI KEELAND
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over a hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-five languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

VI’S SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Facebook Fan Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/ViKeelandFanGroup/

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/vi.keeland
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Vi-Keeland/435952616513958

Website:
http://www.vikeeland.com

Twitter:
@vikeeland
https://twitter.com/ViKeeland

Instagram:
@Vi_Keeland
http://instagram.com/Vi_Keeland/

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6887119.Vi_Keeland

PENELOPE WARD:
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
PENELOPE’S SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/penelopewardauthor

Facebook Private Fan Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/PenelopesPeeps/

Instagram:
@penelopewardauthor
http://instagram.com/PenelopeWardAuthor/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/PenelopeAuthor

OTHER BOOKS BY VI KEELAND AND PENELOPE WARD: