contemporary romance

Silver Lining by A.L. Long

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

Silver Lining by A.L. Long

A.L. Long is an Award-Winning author and recipient of the National Indie Excellence Award.

“It seemed like all I did lately was make poor decisions. Even my decision to marry Spencer instead of telling my parents the truth about the real reason behind the marriage was a mistake. I should have never listened to my college professor, who convinced me to take Alistair Nolan’s offer and marry his son Spencer in exchange for saving my parents’ restaurant.”

Lainey thought she had done everything right until now. Her life had turned inside out and upside down because of her choice to save the two people who mattered to her the most. Having control over her future was no longer her own, and even though she would never regret helping her parents keep their restaurant, she regretted listening to her college professor. Keeping her promise to marry Spencer Nolan, Lanie loses more than her freedom; she leaves behind a future with the one man who could make her happy.

Faking It with the Detective by Rose Bak

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

Faking It with the Detective by Rose Bak

She’s always wanted an adventure, and she’s going to get it, even if she has to pretend to be someone else!

All her life, Michelle has longed for the kind of adventures that she reads about in books. Instead, the forty-year-old cashier has a boring life, a boring job, a boring apartment, and a cat who hates her. Nothing exciting ever happens to her. Until she meets Derrick…

The handsome detective thinks that she’s his FBI contact. When he crashes into the café where she works, demanding that she go with him to find their target, she figures she might as well go for it. Sure, she doesn’t know how to investigate a case. She’s never handled a gun or thrown a punch. And the only time she runs is, well, never. But she was in drama club in high school, so surely she can fake it?

There’s something strange about Michelle. Derrick can’t put his finger on it, but she’s not like any cop he’s ever worked with. She’s sassy and sweet and she flinches every time she sees his gun. But there’s something about her that makes him dream about finally settling down. If they can just figure out where this mob boss is hiding…

She was assigned to help him, but Michelle is the distraction he doesn’t need. If they manage to get out of this alive, he just might need to hold her close — forever.

Sometimes a girl has just gotta fake it. You know what I mean!

Broken Cowboy by Jamie Schulz

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

Broken Cowboy by Jamie Schulz

From an Award-Winning author & 2022 RONE Award Finalist

Addie needs a capable ranch hand for her rundown ranch. Cade needs a job and a little TLC.
When the violence stalking Addie escalates and Cade’s past returns, can their newfound love survive or will they both be destroyed?

“…Do not miss a fantastic start to what promises to be an awesome series.”
Lynn-Alexandria McKendrick
~ InD’tale Magazine

“…The storyline is great…the plot twists and turns are absolutely crazy good; and the HEA was totally kick ass!”
~Amazon Reviewer

Whispered Wishes by Sue Lilley

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

Whispered Wishes by Sue Lilley

Three people are hiding secrets. Time is running out. Secrets can’t stay buried forever…

The reclusive millionaire is protecting his motherless young daughter. The last thing he needs is a romantic distraction. His new neighbour is an intrusion. Yet he can’t get her out of his head…

The ruthless celebrity photographer will stop at nothing and never looks back. He’s the fame-hungry darling of reality TV. But past demons are catching up with him and he’s clinging too close to the edge…

The woman has sworn off men forever. Duped and humiliated, she seeks refuge in her dream cottage in the middle of nowhere. But it’s almost derelict, far from the rural idyll she craves. The guy next door is maddening. A single dad, as hostile as he’s hot…

Then tragedy comes snapping at their heels…

The child goes missing. She’s alone in the depths of winter and the three are intent on blaming each other. After all that’s occurred, old hurts run deep and trust is not on the agenda. But they must team up to find her before it’s too late. Unless they bury their toxic past, they’ll squander all hope of a happy-ever-after.

If you like your relationships fiery and unpredictable, you won’t want to miss this suspenseful romance. Get right to the heart of this sizzling love triangle. An intriguing tale of bad choices and second chances.

SAX by Tory Richards

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

SAX by Tory Richards

NEW RELEASE ALERT!
Book 4 Desert Rebels MC Series

It had been a year since the woman Sax loved broke things off and disappeared. He’d thought Holly had been it for him, that he’d found something that would last a lifetime. But some things just weren’t meant to be. After a year on the road he returned to the Desert Rebels, ready to move on with his life without her, until she showed up, and she wasn’t alone.

[Read more…] about SAX by Tory Richards

Secret Gifts by Satin Russell

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

Secret Gifts by Satin Russell

Tom wants to move their relationship to the next level, but will Jackie’s past get in the way of their future?

Jackie Davis is no stranger to hardship. After a strict upbringing, her parents abandoned her when she got pregnant out of wedlock. Years later, she’s the co-owner of a successful café, mother to a beautiful six-year-old daughter named Abby, and dating a man who makes her heart race. For the first time in a while, she’s actually excited for the holidays.

When Tom Molsem applied as a cook at the local café, he wasn’t looking for a relationship. Haunted by demons from his military service, he was just happy to have a job he could handle. Now he’s the co-owner of that same restaurant and dating a woman who helped lay those ghosts to rest. With the past buried, he wants to build a future with his newfound family.

Tom and Jackie are eager to celebrate Christmas, but when Abby goes missing, the two must band together and discover the true gifts of the season: love, forgiveness, and new beginnings.

Cory Marin Mysteries Box Set (1-3) by JW Robitaille

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

1. Romancing the Crime
“Compares favorably to Harlan Coben.” Amazon Reviewer
“A fast-paced book that kept me wound up tighter than a drum all the way through.” Amazon Reviewer
Sgt. Cory Marin, head of homicide, has her hands full. Not everyone on her squad is happy she’s in charge, she’s still dealing with the break up of her marriage, and wealthy residents are up in arms over the murder of a young professor in broad daylight in Ravine Creek, a proposed city park where she jogs every day. Cory is convinced that what appears to be a random robbery gone wrong is premeditated murder. Her job is complicated by the appearance of Fletcher Manning, a bestselling novelist who shadows her as research for a female detective novel he is writing. She has her guard up, but as she gets to know him, she softens and begins to fall for him.
2. Marshland
“Marshland is fantastic sequel to Romancing the Crime. Cory Marin returns as the strong female lead detective whose instinct and tenacity make the novel a page-turner. The novel contains all new mysteries, twists and turns but with the same likable cast of characters and dialogue. This is shaping up to be a great female detective series.” Amazon Reviewer
“Great character development that makes you feel like you know each of them. Intrigue and suspense abound and twists and turns keep you turning the pages. Wonderful book- fun read!! Love it!!” Amazon Reviewer
Sergeant Cory Marin and Detective Washington investigate the overdose death of a college student and find that everyone involved is lying or has something to hide. The more questions they ask, the more they suspect something very bad has happened. When the corpse of a young man is found in a swamp, their suspicions are confirmed. Their investigation leads them to the creeks and marshes of the Gulf coast, a land of small towns, fishermen, and smugglers, and they discover a subculture of drug importers, dealers, and users, a world dominated by greed.
As Cory struggles to untangle a story of innocence gone awry, she wades through an emotional marshland of her own as she adjusts to the idea that she will be a mother herself. How can she protect her child from the dangers he or she will face?
With so much in flux in her life, her partnership with Washington provides a stabilizing influence, but as their friendship deepens, her feelings for him threaten to upset the fragile stability of her world.
3. Second Self
“I have read all three books in this series and this is my favorite. I could not put it down. Great summer reading!” Amazon Reviewer
“Once again JW Robitaille has written a fast-paced, can’t put it down police procedural featuring Cory Marin, her tough Latina detective, who is holding her own in a southern police department in a university town. There is nothing more fun than a new Cory Marin novel. Highly recommended!” Amazon Reviewer
When Sergeant Cory Marin and Marty Washington begin to investigate the ritualistic murder of an international student, the leads and suspects keep multiplying. Is the killing tied to a similar one twenty years ago? Is the girlfriend’s possessive ex-boyfriend responsible? Do the victim’s fraternity brothers have a reason to want him dead? Or are the victim’s girlfriend or best friend involved?
When they discover a tie-in with the virtual world, Second Life, events take a bizarre twist. As her avatar tracks down leads in Second Life, Cory is faced with a new threat from Fletcher Manning. Luckily, she has Marty Washington, and her father, Jack Riley, in her corner, but can they protect her from Fletcher?

Targeted Age Group:: 25-65

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I was inspired to write the novels in this box set, Romancing the Crime, Marshland, and Second Self, by a desire to show a strong female detective committed to protecting the weak who must grapple with the complexities of modern society. All three are fast-paced police procedurals featuring Sgt. Cory Marin, a strong woman with a complicated love life and a diverse group of friends. Cory battles self-doubt but holds her own in a male profession.

Hearts Unloched by Claire Gem

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

2016 New York Book Festival Award Winner!

A psychic interior designer reluctantly agrees to renovate a sexy investor’s abandoned hotel on Loch Sheldrake, a lake rumored to have once been the mob’s body dumping ground.

Interior designer Kate Bardach loves her single girl’s lifestyle, living in Manhattan and spending weekends at her lake house. She’s passionate about her career, too–reinventing old buildings. But there are some projects she can’t take on because of the spirits trapped inside. Kate is psychic–she sees dead people.

Marco Lareci is one of Wall Street’s most successful investment brokers who’s achieved all of his life’s goals–except for finding his soulmate. His latest project, an abandoned resort on Loch Sheldrake, needs a savvy designer to transform the crumbling complex into a boutique hotel. When Marco meets Kate, he can’t believe his luck. She’s the perfect match for his business and his heart.

Marco’s body excites Kate even more than does his renovation project. But he wants more than a casual relationship, and she’s not willing to give up her freedom. Plus, the haunting at Marco’s resort, a bonafide poltergeist, affects her on an intensely personal level. Kate’s aunt disappeared from the place fifty years ago.

Will the spirit doom Kate and Marco’s love, or drive them closer together?

Targeted Age Group:: 18+

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
The story concept for Hearts Unloched hit me out of left field while I was in the middle of writing another novel. My husband grew up in Sullivan County, N.Y., near Loch Sheldrake. We were in the area visiting friends & family when he told me a few stories about growing up there. He also told me the urban legend about the lake… .

A visit to the Sullivan County Historical Society's Museum in Hurleyville (just a few miles from the lake) confirmed the legend: back in the 50s and 60s, rumor had it that thugs in the Mafia used to drive up from NYC and dump their victims' bodies in Loch Sheldrake – a small lake in a remote location that's very, very deep. That sparked an awesome story idea.

Over the next few hours, we drove around the lake, I took photos, and I talked, asking the question "What if?" During the four hour journey back to Massachusetts (where we now live), I literally wrote the book – verbally, creating the story and relating it to my husband. Upon arriving home, I frantically hit the keyboard and typed an outline. Two months later, Hearts Unloched was born.

There are bits and pieces of truth in Hearts Unloched: my husband actually did work for a resort near Loch Sheldrake, parking cars. He and his buddies did take them out for a spin in the wee hours of the morning. The ethnic/religious differences between Italian hero Marco Lareci and Jewish heroine Kate Bardach also have roots in our family, where there have been two such marriages.

I'm a big fan of ghost stories and romantic novels, so it's only natural for me to write a combination of both. My debut novel, Phantom Traces, takes place in an old, haunted library. The kernel of truth in that story is the May-September romance: my husband is fifteen years older than I am, and we've been happily-ever-after married for thirty-eight years.

If you enjoy romantic suspense with intensely emotional plots, you have found your author. I hope you enjoy Hearts Unloched, and will look for my next paranormal romance – ghost story, Spirits of the Heart, coming later in 2016. And become another of my super fans. 🙂

Featured Book: Robin Unaware, #4 in the Birds in Peril Series by Mary Elizabeth Fricke

By Mystery Reads Curator Leave a Comment

About Robin Unaware, #4 in the Birds in Peril Series by Mary Elizabeth Fricke:

Life is constant change, sometimes planned, sometimes instant and devastating. For Stephanie Harvester-Garrett, life takes an abrupt curve when her husband is killed in a car accident.
Determined to secure a stable home for her three children, Stephanie returns to Missouri to be closer to family and to accept employment in her brother’s law office. A whole new world opens for Stephanie and her three children when they move into a log house owned by Hunt R&C employee, Todd Sellers.

Life appears to be too good to be true. Not only does living in the valley present the quiet, secluded existence Stephanie seeks for her children to heal their tragic loss; she finds means to face the world head on, the world where none of her family knew she and her husband were spiraling toward an ugly divorce. Much to her surprise she quickly finds herself in an intimate relationship with her new landlord.

Having been where Stephanie is, years before (when his wife died and he was left to raise their daughter alone), in the beginning, Todd only seeks to give Stephanie the support she needs to not only to survive but to embrace the future. Much to Todd’s astonishment, he falls as hard and fast and as deeply for Stephanie as she does him. Unfortunately, not all of Stephanie’s family approves of this new found relationship. The heartbreak comes from those she would have leaned on and trusted the most.
In midst of it all, several mysteries involving those of the Hunt-Harvester-Cromwell team begin to unfold. Pieces slowly begin to fall into place after Dan Pentherst’s accident the same night Dr. Ross Garrett was killed. When Todd’s home is broken into it becomes apparent someone embraces a sinister intent.

The dream of living a peaceful country life is interrupted by unexpected ghosts of the past, and hatred spawned in the name of love.

This fiction book is available in ebook format.

Get The Book From Amazon.