THE CHALLENGE, a new single dad, forced proximity, second chance romance from New York Times Bestselling Author, Penelope Ward, is coming August 30! Check out this cover!

Title:  THE CHALLENGE
Author:  PENELOPE WARD 
Genre:  STANDALONE CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Cover Design:  LETITIA HASSER, RBA DESIGNS
Photographer:  ROBERT DAHEY PHOTOGRAPHY
Model:  BEAU CARRILLO
Release Date:  AUGUST 30, 2026

Nothing says welcome home like accidentally moving in with your first heartbreak…and his little girl.

Coming back to my small Wyoming hometown was supposed to be temporary. I only planned to stay long enough to help my ailing mother and sort through the mess of my family’s old belongings.

Instead, I somehow ended up living in Evan Ricci’s house. The single dad now owned a bunch of properties and one of them was the place I’d rented. He’d taken it off the market and moved in before I got there. I just never got the memo. Unfortunately, there was no other place in town available, so Evan let me stay.

\Evan—the guy my parents took in years ago after his mother died.
The same Evan who used to dare me into ridiculous challenges that somehow always made me stronger—a game we’d dubbed The Challenge.

The same guy who ultimately rejected me before I left for college after I’d finally garnered the courage to shoot my shot.

Now Evan was a rugged single dad with an eight-year-old daughter, a cocky attitude, and a dangerous ability to make me forget every reason I should still hate him.

Sharing a house with him should’ve been unbearable. Instead, it felt dangerously familiar, nearly making me forget that I had a life and a job to get back to in Chicago. I realized the biggest challenge wasn’t surviving living with Evan Ricci.

It was not falling in love with him all over again.

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About 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 thirty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.

Find Penelope here:

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NOT A GENTLEMAN, a new grumpy/sunshine, enemies-to-lovers, marriage of convenience suspenseful romance from USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Lani Lynn Vale, is out now!

She decides to run…right into the arms of a man who was supposed to be dead.

Gentry found Sage on the worst day of her life.

He saves her from a fate worse than hell, and in return, she ruins his life.

Not on purpose, though.

No, the men who think to rule her life don’t like that she has a champion on her side and realize the best way to get back at her is to go through him.

They find a really great way to do it, too.

They frame him for a crime he didn’t intentionally commit and sentence him to spend thirteen years in prison. As an added bonus, they take his child—the one thing that matters most to him— just to remind him that they hold all the power.

But Sage will never let them have any power over her.

That’s why, the day before he’s sentenced to prison, Sage offers the only protection she can think to give him. Her hand in marriage.

For seven years, Sage fights to get her husband-in-name-only free.

Just when she thinks she’s close, she gets the news. Her husband has died in a prison riot, leaving her free to marry another.

That’s when she decides to run.

And where does her running take her? Right into the arms of a man who was supposed to be dead.

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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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I’VE GOT A CRUSH ON YOU, a spicy new forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, forbidden workplace romance from #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Lauren Blakely, is coming July 28th!

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Giving into our chemistry once won’t hurt. Two might be pushing it. By the seventh, it’s undeniable–I’ve got a crush on him too…

My secret workplace romance starts innocently enough at a birthday party.

But when a rowdy partier knocks me into a lake and a sexy stranger comes to my rescue – my night becomes one to remember.

A night so steamy I almost forget why I’ve sworn off men after a failed workplace romance.

Trouble is, the brand new doggy daycare in Darling Springs that I’ve contracted with is owned by none other than my sexy stranger. Thanks, fate.

Sawyer turns out to be a total grump in a tailored suit, no matter how sunshine-y I am. Even when he squeezes that hard body past me as I bring donuts to work. Or when he pretends he’s not roaming his dark eyes over me as I teach Fido to sit, stay and come.

But I’m focusing on my shiny new future—my dog-training business is suddenly the hottest thing in town, thanks to a new actress client. And when I’m roped into a charity dance number, I smell an opportunity, especially when I learn my hot landlord has an alter ego and a fandom.

Turns out Mr. Serious Boss is up for dance lessons.

Then the entire Dirty Dancing experience.

Giving into our chemistry once won’t hurt. Two might be pushing it. By the seventh, it’s undeniable–I’ve got a crush on him too.

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Narrated in duet by Vanessa Edwin & Connor Crais!

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EXCERPT:

Ready for whatever the night brings, I cross the lobby and turn the corner into the bar. My heart stupidly skips a beat when I find Sawyer exactly where he promised he’d be. At the end of the bar, with a glass of iced tea in front of him. Music plays overhead. Sounds like Journey. Maybe “Don’t Stop Believin’”?

And is Sawyer…singing along to it?

Well, air singing, since he’s sort of mouthing the words, drumming out a beat on the counter with his hands.

I smother a smile so I don’t look too giddy when I walk his way. But really, this is a great sign. Would a beheader sing along to Journey? I don’t think so. I march over, eye the stool next to him, and say, “Is this seat taken?”

Sawyer rises, a knowing look in his eyes as he sweeps them up and down me in a shameless tour of my body. But he doesn’t answer my question with words. He answers with actions when he cups my cheek, strokes his thumb down my jawline, then comes in close, dipping his face toward mine. Giving me time to say no.

I don’t. I lift my chin in invitation.

He drops his mouth to mine, and for a few dizzying seconds, the kiss is as slow and sweet as a summer afternoon. It’s hazy and warm as he brushes his lips across mine in a teasing whisper of a kiss.

It’s deliciously unexpected. I’m not used to men knowing their mind, making a plan, and sticking to it. But I think I could get used to it in the kissing department, since this kiss goes straight to my head. And, well, my bikini. I’m aching between my thighs already. I grab the collar of his shirt, twisting my fingers around the material so I can hold on tight.

He kisses me for a few more delirious seconds, that trim beard whisking across my face in a light scratch. When he breaks the kiss, I figure that’s when we’ll sit down, but there’s no reprieve. After his mouth quirks up in a too pleased grin, he rasps out, “Come here, Chloe.”

“I’m here,” I whisper.

“Closer,” he says, hauling me against him before he takes another kiss. This one knocks the breath right out of me. It’s hard, demanding, full of teeth and tongue and desire. He kisses me like he wants to f*&k me. His tongue explores my mouth. One hand grips my face. The other ropes around my waist.

There’s no hesitation from him.

No games.

No dicking around.

I have a feeling that Sawyer is unapologetic. A man who wants what he wants and tonight that’s…me.

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.

Connect with Lauren:

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ICE COLD CHEMISTRY, a fake dating, opposites attract, workplace hockey romance from New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author, Kendall Ryan, is available now!

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She’s the distraction the team can’t afford.
He’s the solution no one saw coming…

She’s the distraction the team can’t afford.
He’s the solution no one saw coming.

Winnie Garrett is done with men. After a toxic relationship left her second-guessing everything, she’s focused on one her dream job as the New York Knights’ new yoga instructor.

Banks Callahan doesn’t do relationships. Or feelings. Or anything that requires letting people get close. Growing up in the foster system taught him not to need anyone—and definitely not to want something he could lose.

So when the team’s new yoga instructor becomes an unexpected locker-room distraction threatening their playoff focus, Banks comes up with a solution so ridiculous it just might work.

Fake dating.

If the guys think Winnie is his, they’ll back off. It’s simple locker room you don’t touch what’s claimed—like calling dibs on the last slice of pizza.

The problem?

Nothing about Winnie is simple.

She’s warmth and laughter and everything Banks has spent years convincing himself he doesn’t need. She makes him want things he can’t have. Makes him feel things he doesn’t understand.

He was never supposed to fall for her.

But somewhere between fake hand-holding, pretend nicknames, and very real late-night moments, the line between “just for show” and “dangerously real” starts to blur.

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“A sweet, swoony, heartstring-puller…” ~Danielle, Red Cheeks Reads

Check out Danielle’s 4.5 SMOOCHES review!

EXCERPT:

Banks

I’m in the weight room, working through my second set of deadlifts, when the doors to the training room swing open and half the team spills out like puppies who just discovered a new toy. They’re loud, animated, and way too energized for guys who just spent an hour stretching.

“Bro, did you see her?”

“I’m signing up for every session. Every single one.”

“Those leggings should be illegal.”

I rack the barbell and grab my water bottle, watching the chaos unfold. Logan is bouncing around like the golden retriever he is, talking with his hands, practically vibrating. A few of the younger guys huddle together, phones out, probably already stalking her Instagram.

We have a playoff push this spring. These idiots are acting like they’ve never seen a woman before.

“You see the new girl? Yoga just became my favorite part of the week.”

I turn to find Grayson Reed leaning against the squat rack, that smug smile plastered across his face. I don’t like Reed; never have. He’s got the talent to be good and the attitude to make sure he never will be.

“Didn’t notice,” I say.

“Bullshit.” He grins wider. “You can’t put a woman who looks like that in a room full of hockey players and expect us to concentrate. Dana’s either clueless or she’s running some kind of social experiment.”

I stare at him until his smile falters.

“What?”

“Nothing.” I turn back to the weights. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

He mutters something under his breath—probably an insult, definitely not worth my time—and wanders off. Good. I have three more sets to finish, and I’m not in the mood to babysit.

Except now I’m thinking about her.

The yoga instructor. Winnie.

About Kendall Ryan:

A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of more than three dozen titles, Kendall Ryan has sold millions of books and they have been translated into several languages in countries around the world.

Her books have also appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists more than 100 times. Ryan has been featured in such publications as USA Today, Newsweek, and InTouch Magazine.

She lives in Texas with her husband and two sons.

Connect with Kendall:

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Visit Kendall’s website for all of her latest book news and fun extras!

A SIMPLE MISTAKE, a new best friend’s older sister, surprise pregnancy, small-town romance from USA Today Bestselling Author, Lacey Black, is available now!

She’s scared, but I’m ready to fight for us…

Quinn

I have a thing for my best friend’s sister. Charli Miller has always been the woman to own my heart, despite the fact she doesn’t feel the same way. We’re oil and water, fire and ice. We butt heads at every turn, but I’d still do anything for her.

I wouldn’t deny her anything.

Which is why I don’t put a stop to the little arrangement we seem to fall into. Spending that time with her is better than anything I’ve ever experienced, but unfortunately, it makes me crave more. I’ve always wanted Charli, but now, I’m a determined man. Especially when she shocks me with big news.

She’s scared, but I’m ready to fight. Fight for us.

Charli

No one pushes my buttons like Quinn Garrison. He might possibly be the most infuriating man on the face of the planet, and since he’s my younger brother’s best friend, I can’t get away from him. He’s always there, and even when he’s being sweet and supportive, it just grates on my nerves.

Until one day, that irritation explodes.

What happens next wasn’t planned. It’s raw and fueled by years of emotions, and even though I swore it wouldn’t happen again, it does. I let him into my bed and, as time passes, I’m unable to keep him out of my heart. I want everything I didn’t even know I needed, and there’s no going back now.

Especially when I see those two pink lines…

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“…sweet, steamy and emotional.” ~Danielle, Red Cheeks Reads

Check out Danielle’s 5 SMOOCHES review!

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 FALL AFFAIR, an all-new opposites attract, summer romance set in Tuscany from #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Vi Keeland, is coming August 18th! Check out this cover!

Title:  THE FALL AFFAIR
Authors:  VI KEELAND
Genre:  STANDALONE CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Cover Design:  SOMMER STEIN, PERFECT PEAR CREATIVE
Photographer:  MARK MENDEZ
Release Date:  AUGUST 18, 2026

She’s counting down the days until she leaves Tuscany. He’s counting on making her stay.

Some people go to Tuscany to find themselves.

I went to escape—New York, my ex’s new relationship, and a career that derailed the moment I was passed over for partner.

My plan was simple: settle my eccentric Italian grandmother’s estate, sell whatever wasn’t nailed down, and return to the life I’d worked too hard to lose.

Instead, I walked into a mess—a crumbling antique shop, two hundred acres of leased vineyard land, and one infuriating clause in the will: Live and work in the shop for three months, or inherit nothing.

Then there’s the neighbor I clash with instantly. Matteo Lucchese is the infuriatingly handsome winemaker who leases my family’s land and refuses to be impressed by my credentials—or my attitude. He’s rugged and stubborn, stuck living in a time that has long passed us by, and the word rush isn’t part of his vocabulary. Basically, we’re exact opposites.

But as the days stretch into weeks, Tuscany chips away at the armor I didn’t realize I was wearing, and Matteo shows me the appeal of slowing down, of staying rooted, of wanting something other than climbing the corporate ladder.

I came to Tuscany to escape.

But now that the countdown to going home was on, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to leave.

And the life I was falling for came with a looming expiration date.

————————————————

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About Vi Keeland:

AVENGING ANGELS: A LICK AND A PROMISE, a swoon-worthy new action-packed and suspenseful romantic comedy from New York Times Bestselling Author, Kristen Ashley, is out now!

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They both knew this was it. Together forever…

Luna Nelson and Knox Chambers fell together fast, and they did it hard. It was so big, so special, they wanted it just for themselves and kept it a secret from their found family: the Avenging Angels and the Hottie Squad.

They both knew this was it. Together forever.

What Luna didn’t know was that Knox had secrets.

Secrets that tore them apart.

But when Knox asked for them to continue being friends—for the sake of their crew, and so he wouldn’t lose her—Luna loved him enough to say yes. Yes to the torture of being in the life of a man who was the love of hers, but he let her go.

Then, Knox gets shot. He gets shot not because he’s got a dangerous job (which he does), but because his family is an absolute mess.

With the man who means everything to her recuperating, Luna can’t keep away.

While Luna tries to keep the Angels safe from interfering in Knox’s family’s criminal enterprises, she and Knox circle each other, drawing a different kind of blood.

Will Knox continue to keep his secrets?

And will both of them be safe in the Chambers Family Feud?

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“…one heck of an angsty, emotional ride.” ~Danielle, Red Cheeks Reads

Check out Danielle’s 5 SMOOCHES review!

EXCERPT:

Chapter One

He Wants You

I shouldn’t be here.

I knew I shouldn’t be here.

But when Raye called, even though my mind said one thing (that I shouldn’t be here), my body (okay, my heart) said another.

So I was there.

The good news: I was just one more body in the mix, so it wasn’t like I was the castoff chick hanging around, embarrassing herself pining for some dude.

In other words, that hospital waiting room was a crush seeing as all the Hottie Squad was there, all the Angels, along with Tex, Nancy, Shirleen, Marjorie. Even Tito was there.

So I was just another person in a sea of people who were worried as fuck Knox got shot.

That was the bad news, Knox had been shot.

Twice.

He’d been shot…twice.

Oh yeah.

That was the way bad news.

He did not get shot while conducting Nightingale Investigations & Security business, which it was my understanding was a possibility, if not a probability in their line of work due to them not being your average, everyday private investigations and security business, but a whole lot more. He got shot because his family was a nightmare.

More good news, the surgeon came out and told us he was out of surgery, stable, resting and no lasting damage had occurred. Though he’d need some time to mend and do physical therapy to regain full strength in his shoulder and leg.

Okay, so that was mixed good news because, absolutely, no lasting damage was obviously a good thing.

But he had to recuperate from two gunshot wounds he got because his family was borderline ready for their episode of Evil Lives Here and that totally freaking sucked.

More of that mixed good news, my staring contest with Cheyenne was over.

Although I sensed why she hated me—even though it was lame as hell, since she had him for a while, and I didn’t (well, I did, but it wasn’t a very long while)—what I didn’t know was why she was there at all.

They’d broken up.

But by damn, when the surgeon came out, the bitch popped out of her seat like a demented Jill in the Box and shouldered even Cap and Mace out of the way (respectively, Knox’s best bud and his boss) to belly up to the doc.

She also lied and said she was Knox’s partner, so she got to be the first to go back and see him.

Usually, the dudes were super cool with chicks. Lots of patience (needed), lots of understanding (also needed—what could I say? we were a bunch of nutso broads), all kinds of room to be who we were and do what we did (as, of course, it should be—save Knox in that scenario, but that was a longer story).

But when Cheyenne did that, everyone got pissed, and even the dudes didn’t hide it.

And when she did it, Raye took my hand (again, she’d been holding it on and off for the last three hours), and Brady shot me a look.

Truth: Brady and me had screwed the pooch.

Honestly, it seemed a good idea at the time.

Okay, not a good idea. A demented, in-your-face, heartbroken idea. But when you were heartbroken, demented ideas often seemed like good ones.

Then again, I was learning not to lead with the heart. Though, admittedly, I was learning this by messing up royally because I’d done something stupid at the edict of my heart.

My heart had me sitting right there, benched, because I meant nothing to Knox except being a member of his friend posse.

A distant one.

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