Romance

Acting Lessons

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Cover of Acting Lessons

Parting may be such sweet sorrow, but second chances are so much sweeter.

An intense summer fling with handsome, protective actor James Martin opened up self-effacing Frederica Alves’ horizons. Then their potential for love met a swift end when he followed his dreams and left New York for Hollywood.

Two years later, James is back, his talent now matched by his rising fame, and that spark is still there. But the shy Freddie he knew has become a confident woman and their passionate reconnection speedily turns into equally passionate conflict.

That Freddie was still single was both unexpected and welcome after two years apart. But as James learns how much she’s grown into herself, he realizes he’d walked away from the best thing that ever happened to him.

Trouble is, one thing has stayed the same: Freddie hates cameras and attention and they’re about to face a lot of both.

Can a publicity-shy woman and a celebrity learn how to reach for the stars together, or will everything come crashing to earth?

Content warning: biphobia

Cover design and illustration: Marika Bailey

Fast Acting

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Cover of Fast Acting

Love isn’t just in the air: it’s contagious.

Kathleen Fitzgerald has never been the leading lady. In her stage roles, she’s always the second banana or the sidekick. And in love she’s forever the bridesmaid, never the bride. So, showing up to support her best friend at her weekend wedding by the sea is a well-rehearsed role. Until one look from handsome fellow wedding guest Russell King makes her feel like a star.

Law professor Russell was raised to be the consummate gentleman, and after a failed marriage, he’s doubly hesitant about getting involved with women. Except Kathleen is a knockout: creative, irreverent, and unconventional, making him seriously consider stepping off his carefully-trodden life path to trip the light fantastic with the quicksilver actress.

The scene is set for a weekend fling but when the curtain comes down there just might be potential for an encore that leads to love.

Cover design and illustration: Marika Bailey

The Wedding Bait

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Cover of The Wedding Bait

You are cordially invited to…a hot mess.

“Ice Queen” Tove Nilsen has it all: a successful career as a political consultant, beauty, a wonderful daughter who’s about to be married…and a gaslighting, selfish disaster of an ex-husband who’s just RSVP’d “yes” to the wedding. On top of that, he’s bringing wife number six with him—a woman who’s a mere 5 years older than their daughter.

Oh, and she’s a literal supermodel.

Tove’s always handled everything on her own, but now she’s out of her depth until she decides to hire a man to pose as her date for the weekend-long event.

Enter Patrick Mercer, retired escort. His easy confidence soothes Tove’s ragged nerves and enables her to face her ex with her head high. Even better, he infuriates the other man, who can’t make Tove the target for his usual taunts about her single status.

Everything’s going according to plan as the events surrounding the wedding unfold, but there’s a slight complication: for the first time in his career, Patrick is falling for a client. And Tove’s frozen heart is dangerously close to thawing for him.

Content warning: homophobia

Cover design: Adele Buck and Ainslie Paton with stock footage from DepositPhotos

Angling for You

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When you’ve lost nearly everything, can you trust enough to put your heart on the line?

As a fly fishing guide, Sam Halvorsen is a woman in a man’s world and she’s heard enough bad jokes about rods to last a lifetime. When she takes Graham Evans out on the water, her goal is to get her payday and deposit the handsome librarian back on dry land.

Yet not only does Graham have an adorable dog, he respects her skills and knowledge. Sam finds herself confiding in him about her grief and fear of abandonment following the death of the grandmother who raised her. Even more surprising, she finds herself giving into the attraction and passion between them.

Sam never expected to find the love of a man who sees her for exactly who she is. But just as she’s starting to trust her feelings for Graham, a letter arrives, bringing with it a torrent of family secrets and lies that could ruin everything.

Content warning: death of family members (off page, in the past), casual sexism

Cover design: Kanaxa

 

Handy for You

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Sometimes true love can be right around the corner.

Give Kari Halvorsen a spreadsheet and she’ll have it mastered by noon. Give her a broken sink in her brand-new home and, well, that’s a different story. Turns out her lifelong dream of owning her own house is very different from the reality—and it’s terrifying.

Enter the guy next door. Rob Fox has serious do-it-yourself skills and he’s more than happy to put them to work for his pretty neighbor. But that’s as far as it can go. He’s always been a disaster with women—just ask his ex-wife—and he doesn’t need an enemy in his backyard. He’ll fix Kari’s sink, and that’s it.

But attraction has other plans for these two. And it’s not long before they’re exploring more than the paint aisle at the local home improvement store. Now, it’s a question of whether or not they can overcome decades of going it alone and build a foundation together.

Content warnings: familial death (in the past, off page), divorce (in the past, off page), unappreciated emotional labor.

Cover design: Kanaxa

The Anti-Social Season

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Relationship Status: Doesn’t Get More Complicated Than This

In this offbeat holiday romantic comedy, an overworked firefighter turned social media coordinator and a librarian with an unrequited crush break a few rules in the company handbook…

For Thea Martinelli, burnout is real. After working as a firefighter for the Emergency Services Department over the last ten years, she can’t stomach any more close calls. Just when she’s ready to hang up the hose for good, she’s offered an out: stay on as the station’s new social media coordinator. It’s a move that would keep her on the squad and off the truck—if she makes it through the probation period.

Basically, she needs to learn everything there is to know about social media…fast.

Librarian and social media coordinator Simon Osman is shocked to learn his new responsibilities include showing Thea Martinelli—his high school crush—the ins and outs of digital engagement. And the fact that she doesn’t even remember him? Not helpful. Still, this could be his chance to finally turn his part-time role into something long-term.

But as the chaos of the holiday season unfolds, Thea and Simon find that the closer they work together, the hotter their attraction burns. Yet giving in to these feelings could mean giving up their careers. Are they willing to risk everything they’ve worked toward…for each other?

Cover illustration: Hattie Windley

This Road Trip’s Got Only One Bed

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Placeholder cover for This Road Trip's Got Only One Bed

When the hotel has only one bed, will a former crush and a friend’s little sister share the sheets?

Ambitious executive Katrina McAnally doesn't have time for a concussion. She's in fierce competition with her odious big brother to take over her family's company and due to be a bridesmaid at a wedding nine hours away. So a bad fall just before the trip is terrible—especially when her childhood crush is taking her vitals. It’s been ages since she’s seen her brother’s ex-friend, Aiden Petersen, and…is Katrina’s pulse racing? Yeah, that might have everything to do with the sexy paramedic.

Aiden has seen his fair share of patients, but he wasn’t prepared to see Katrina again. Not looking grown-up and gorgeous. Given their history, it’s best if he treats her and gets out of the way. Until Katrina’s wealthy mother offers him funding for his master's degree—if he’ll safely escort a concussed Katrina to the wedding.

The adventure ahead may be full of shared beds, intimate wedding events and smoldering attraction, but the road signs are clear: mixing family with business with pleasure is much easier said than done.

Method Acting

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All the world’s a stage until your heart is on the line.

All Alicia Johnson has ever wanted is to be able to slip into someone else’s life, clothing, and makeup to become a murderess, a socialite, a mother, or a nurse for an episode or a season. And she’s good at it.

Being an actress comes with a healthy dose of financial insecurity and a willingness to live out of two jammed suitcases, ready to go wherever the next director wants her. Up until now, it’s been worth it for the creative escape and the thrill of applause.

All Colin St. Cyr has ever wanted is to win, going all-in to get Congress to see things his clients’ way. Despite being a Brit in Washington, D.C., he is well off, well connected…and well on his way to becoming a boring bachelor forevermore after a heinous breakup.

Especially as he’s just made an arse of himself with the first woman who has knocked him sideways in years. It won’t matter how much money he donates to the theater; Alicia Johnson is still going to look at him like a goddess looks at a flea.

The only thing he can do is use his highly attuned persuasive skills to talk her into giving him a second chance.

Cover design and illustration: Marika Bailey

The stage is set, but by the final act, is it a love story between the provocative actress and the cultured power-player or will it end in tragedy?

Content warnings: parental death (in the past, off page), familial abandonment.

Acting Up

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Cover of Acting Up

The stage is set for the play of a lifetime: but it’s the romantic drama backstage that has everyone applauding.

Paul and Cath are the perfect creative team. He’s an up-and-coming theater director and she’s his unflappable, rock-steady stage manager.

If Cath’s had to bury her unrequited affection for Paul for ten long years to keep things professional, it’s just the price she pays for a career she loves, working with her best friend by her side.

Until he hires her old nemesis as the leading lady for a new play that’s their chance to make it big.

Handling temperamental actors is one thing, but watching this diva throw herself at Paul makes Cath miserable. It’s another complication when the leading man shows his attraction to her. Suddenly, an unexpected new job offer seems like a good idea.

But then Paul upends her world by declaring his love and sparking a passionate encounter.

It’s both a dream come true and a nightmare as Cath is convinced that personal and professional relationships don’t mix and getting involved could jeopardize the play—and both their careers.

Can Paul flip the script and set the stage to convince Cath otherwise or is their love always destined to wait in the wings?

Content warning: bullying

Cover design and illustration: Marika Bailey

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