Title: Surrender Author: Ariana Rose Genre: Contemporary Romance
Ava Caron, a successful and hardworking PR strategist, finds herself in unfamiliar territory when her engagement is unexpectedly and dramatically called off. A getaway with her best friend seems to be exactly what’s needed to clear her mind, body and spirit. She never expects to make a connection with a man who appears to have walked right off the silver screen and into her life without warning, much like the heroes of her favorite fairy tales.
Rafael Varallo is made of leading man material with his rugged good looks, chivalry, and charm that would make any woman fall at his feet. The last thing he’s expecting is to take a fall of his own, when an accidental encounter involving spilled coffee and a pair of beautiful hands capture his attention immediately. His proposal for adventure to step outside of their comfort zones is all it takes.
To surrender isn’t weakness, it’s strength.
Sand, sex, laughs and perhaps even love make for a heady combination and in paradise things may not always be what you expect.
Author and hopeless romantic, Ariana Rose, dabbles in all forms of contemporary romance. All of her novels do have one thing in common. Her heroes and heroines are as passionate about life and love as they are about each other.
A proud mother of two, she was born and raised in the Minneapolis area. She’s always been a storyteller and known to have a flair for the dramatic. Her daughter is just across the border finishing her college career and is a go to for all things graphic design. Her son is a busy middle schooler who loves all things penguins, science, gaming, cars and the weather. Ariana’s fur baby (a beagle/lab) can be found curled next to her while she writes unless chasing squirrels and finding puppy friends become a higher priority.
When Ariana is not writing, she can be found at the rink in a figure skating lesson, binge watching her favorite shows, screening an 80s movie she’s seen hundreds of times, exploring history or traveling to any of her current or new favorite places.
Ariana first published in August of 2018. Her Stone Series was the leaping point. It’s fourth installment will debut in October 2021. She has two novels in K. Bromberg’s Driven World, Twisted with its sequel Entwined. The concluding chapter Pivot, will follow in February 2022. You can find her first sports romance, Bitter Edge, in the Cocky Hero World. Double Exposure, her first co-write, also releases in February 2022.
You can find her exclusively in Kindle Unlimited. You can also sign up for her newsletter, watch her website or find her on all her social media to catch all the latest and greatest on upcoming projects.
Always remember that passion is never a bad thing, it’s where dreams and reality collide.
Two widows, six kiddos, and a will that leaves them a massive cattle ranch, but only if they work it for a year.
Abigail and Amanda may have married brothers, but they have almost nothing else in common (and really, they never did get along very well). After their husbands both pass away, they have no reason to interact. Their connection drops to an awkward phone call on birthdays and an exchange of holiday cards.
Until an eccentric uncle of their husbands’ leaves a massive cattle ranch to the women’s minor children. . . if they work the ranch themselves. A ranch that’s located near a small town on the border of Wyoming that isn’t too keen on outsiders.
They’re both going to turn the bequest down, clearly. It’s not like either of them could properly raise their kids or find love again in a backwater province like Birch Creek. But when things at home change dramatically—for both moms—they decide to give it a try. . . just for the summer.
What could possibly go wrong in a mere three months? (Or more importantly… what might go right?)
I pay, and we’re out the door. It takes almost five minutes to get all the kids and all the groceries squeezed into the car, but with the sun setting, I’d rather not try and find a place to buy dinner. My son Ethan lets me pile him up with stuff, including a rather precarious stack of produce. At least no one argues with me or begs for McDonald’s. With four kids and more than fourteen hours of travel under our belts, it’s a small miracle.
“I’ll hurry,” I promise.
The sun has lit the entire sky an orangey pink by the time we’re cruising down the street off which the ranch is set. Ethan’s so excited that we’re close that he’s belting “On Top of the World” by Imagine Dragons. It’s making it hard to think, much less hear The Jetsons in the back.
“Cut it out,” Izzy says.
He ignores her.
“We’re almost there,” I say.
“Shut up, Ethan!” Whitney throws something—not sure what—that knocks the bag of apples sideways. They roll off Ethan’s lap and spill all over the center console. One rolls down into the floorboard.
“Guys!”
“Sorry, Mom!” Whitney says. “But Ethan won’t shut up, and I can’t hear.”
I slow way down so that I can grab the apple. I finally end up stopping in the middle of the road while I rummage around for it. I’m lucky this road has no traffic on it.
My hand finally wraps around the shiny, smooth skin. “Ha!” After I sit up again, I look around to make sure it’s clear for me to drive.
There aren’t any other cars, but there is a tall, shirtless man mowing the front lawn of a small white farmhouse. It may not be that warm outside, but his body still glistens with sweat. I can’t look away from the defined pecs, the bunched biceps, and the washboard stomach. Ohmygoodness, I’m too old to go entirely blank when I see someone who’s magazine centerfold hot. I’m sure he’s young enough to be—
But then he looks up, and I realize he’s not young at all. He’s close to my age. And he’s staring right at me staring back at him, and he has no idea I wasn’t staring at him the entire time we were stopped. My foot slams against the gas pedal and we shoot forward, but he waves in spite of my quick departure. I wonder whether this man who must be a relatively close neighbor could see through the window and might recognize my face. I really hope not.
The sun has dropped so low that there’s barely a golden glow when we crest the ridge and turn into the driveway my map is bleating at me to take, and my heart has finally settled down to a sustainable rate. “I think this is it, guys.”
Bridget loves her husband (every day) and all five of her kids (most days).
She’s a lawyer, but does as little legal work as possible. She has three quarter horse geldings, a Holsteiner (jumping) horse, and she spends too much time riding and not enough time writing. (Or too much time writing and not enough time riding, depending on your perspective!)
She has more chickens than she’ll admit to having, two lions head rabbits, a cat, two dogs (one bouncy and one yappy). She makes cookies waaaaay too often and believes they should be their own food group. In a (possibly misguided) attempt at balancing the scales, she kickboxes daily.
So if you don’t like her books, her kids, her horses, her chickens, or her cookies, maybe don’t tell her in person.
B.E. Baker is the romance/women’s fiction penname for Bridget E. Baker, who also writes fantasy, end of the world, and dystopian books that add a little magic to the world.
Title: Freedom or Death Author: Adria Carmichael Series: Juche #4 Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
A highly addictive Young Adult Dystopian Survival Saga that will keep you glued to the pages.
Areum and Nari are arrested and face imminent doom, but are saved at the last minute by an unexpected and unspeakable betrayal.
Still, they are far from being out of the woods. As they are reassigned to food gathering duty in the mountains, they must continue their fight for survival under the constant threat of daily executions and the rampant starvation sweeping through the prison camp. And with time running out for Nari, Areum is more desperate than ever to find a way to escape, making her forge risky new alliances that until now would have been unthinkable.
As the situation in the camp deteriorates further, their survival comes down to their ability to work as a team. But dark secrets and lies continue to be revealed, sending the fragile coalition to the verge of collapse at an alarming speed.
I buried my face in the pit of my elbow that rested on my folded knees. My head felt almost as heavy as my heart, and the whirlwind of thoughts raged on ceaselessly.
And Nari’s condition is only one of all the Sacred Rules we have broken these past months. Soon, both of us will be up on Cemetery Hill under a buzzing cloud of black flies together with—
A sudden scream made me jump so hard I smashed my head against the wall behind me. I ran to the door and pressed my ear against the cold metal with one hand firmly over the excruciatingly throbbing bruise on my scalp. The scream died out just as abruptly as it had started, but I remained in the same position for a long time before I returned to my corner. The scream had come from a girl, but not Nari. I was sure of that. Still, I couldn’t help rubbing my fingernails in a futile attempt to ease the phantom pain from the invisible needles piercing deep into the pink, tender flesh underneath them.
I didn’t have to wait long for the next scream. This time, it was a boy. I told myself it didn’t sound like Jun Ha, but I was less sure this time. Immediately after that scream had faded, another scream penetrated the air. And then another. The harrowing screams came and went—each more agonizing and horrifying than the previous. I crawled up further into my corner with my hands covering my ears, desperately trying to gather my thoughts. I went through the events of the past few days that had led me to sit here, waiting for my turn to scream.
Adria Carmichael is a writer of dystopian fiction with a twist. When she is not devouring dystopian and post-apocalyptic content in any format – books, movies, TV-series and PlayStation games – she is crafting the epic and highly-addictive Juche saga, her 2020 debut novel series that takes place in the brutal, totalitarian nation of Choson. When the limit of doom and gloom is reached, a 10K run on a sunny day or binging a silly sitcom on a rainy day is her go-to way to unwind.
