If it weren’t for bad luck, Stephanie Combes would have no luck at all.
On top of stealing her identity and ruining her credit, Stephie’s ex-boyfriend has shamed her in the most unexpected way. As a card dealer, she’s determined to make a fresh start in Biloxi where the tips are better and she can climb out from under her shame and debt. Running into her long-lost stepbrother and his sexy-as-sin best friend wasn’t in the cards, but that was her bum-luck rearing its ugly head. The last thing she wants is another man in her life.
When it rains it pours, but lucky for Stephie, Har is there to save the day during the deluge. Staying with Har temporarily should be no problem, but they can’t deny their lust. The more Stephie distances herself, the more Har fights to keep her around. And he fights dirty.
Michael “Har” Walcott’s motorcycle club is in turmoil. As president of the Riot MC Biloxi chapter, he’s determined to get his club out of the drug trade, but his brothers are resistant. The last thing he needs is a woman dividing his focus from his brothers and his club… which is precisely when he meets a spunky and seemingly familiar brunette. She’s familiar because Stephanie was once a stepsister to Har’s best friend Brute. Allowing her to distract him isn’t an option. But after her roof collapses, Har steps in to save the day. The more he learns about Stephie, the more he wants her to stay.
He fights his attraction, but he can’t control his impulses.
He hasn’t felt anything like this for a woman in years. It’ll be a cold day in hell before he lets it slip through his fingers again.
Har’s hand rested on the light switch when a thought hit him. “You have contact info for Stephie?”
“Come again?”
“You heard me.”
“Got a phone number, but not sure if it’s still the one she uses. Why the fuck do you want it?”
Har met Brute’s irritated gaze. “Saw her bike before I went in the house, and obviously before I knew who she was. It’s a sweet ride with a sweeter paint job. I want to know who did it.”
“I’d rather know what it’ll take to get her off the damn thing. Not safe—”
“Don’t even, man. How many times did that argument work against you from your parents?”
Brute’s jaw clenched.
“She ain’t gonna be any different. Hell, she’s a woman, it’ll be even worse, you go tellin’ her she ain’t safe and shit.”
Brute shook his head. “You’re right. And you mentioned she’s living here now. I need to find out where. It’s been a long time since she’s been out here, as far as I know. Things are different.”
“Yeah. Be good you let her know about that, too.”
He and Brute had been friends since they were nine years old and he hadn’t forgotten how much Brute hated having two stepsisters when his dad remarried. Though, he never rubbed it in when Brute complained after they were gone. The love he had for Stephie and Susan snuck up on Brute. In Har’s experience, love did that more often than not. It snuck in at weird times.
The look on Brute’s face said he didn’t like Stephie being in town.
“And she lost her entire stack to you last night. What was that all about?”
Har arched a brow, but didn’t answer. And he wasn’t going to let Brute know that Stephie had signed over an entire paycheck to get in the game. That was what concerned Har. It wasn’t that she had no business at a poker table, it was that gambling with a paycheck indicated serious desperation.
What would drive a woman like Stephanie Combes to desperation?
Karen Renee is the award-winning author of the Riot MC series, the Beta series, and upcoming O-Town series. She has been writing since she was a teen, but has only recently brought her dream to life. Karen spent years working in the wonderful world of advertising, banking, and local television media research. She is a Jacksonville native, as well as a proud wife and mother. When she’s not at the soccer field or cooking, you can find her at her local library, the grocery store, in her car jamming out to some tunes, or hibernating while she writes and/or reads books.
Dominique Price hates me. He wants me. He can never have me.
At least that’s what I tell him. Good looking, arrogant, football God, everything comes so easy for him. I won’t be just another game to win. It doesn’t matter that I want him. It doesn’t matter that with just one look, he takes my breath away.
He’s my brother’s best friend and officially off limits. But when he touches me, I forget what we’re supposed to be. Acquaintances. Enemies. Nothing. And I dream of what we could be. Friends. Lovers. Everything.
If only everyone’s expectations weren’t standing in the way.
Daniela Romero is a Snarky AF, Latinx Author, who happens to also be a Mom of 3. Born and raised in sunny California, she now makes her home in the Pacific Northwest and is happy to enjoy all four seasons even if the snow can sometimes be a bit much. She hates cheese–of all kinds–and yes that means she orders cheeseless pizza. Daniela is an ENTJ all the way which means she loves to talk (a lot) and is probably as extroverted as they come so feel free to shoot her a message, send a raven, throw up smoke signals. Whatever it may be. She love’s chatting with readers so feel free to stalk her.
For nearly six hundred years, Vlad Tepesh cared for nothing, so he had nothing to lose. His brutal reputation ensured that all but the most foolhardy stayed away. Now falling in love with Leila has put him at the mercy of his passions. And one adversary has found a devastating way to use Vlad’s new bride against him.
A powerful spell links Leila to the necromancer Mircea. If he suffers or dies, so does she. Magic is forbidden to vampires, so Vlad and Leila enlist an unlikely guide as they search for a way to break the spell. But an ancient enemy lies in wait, capable of turning Vlad and Leila’s closest friends against them…and finally tearing the lovers apart forever.
The final book in the story of Vlad and Leila didn’t feel like as much of a romance as it did an urban fantasy. Yes, we still have all the romance elements and a happily ever after (or for now at least), but so much happened without the two of them being together. It tried too hard to bring the side characters to the forefront of the story. And I assume that’s because their story will be coming soon. But it did cause this last book to fall a little flat in the romance department.
Now, I enjoy a good urban fantasy all the time, so the lack of togetherness didn’t bother me in general. But this was supposed to be a romance. The urban fantasy part of me loved the action and the lore. Finally seeing how Leila “came to be” and learning more about her history was really nice – if it did take up a little too much of the story. It gets stuck there for quite a while. But, in a world as vast as Jeaniene Frost’s, there may be a reason for this that I don’t understand just yet.
Vlad’s past is fleshed out a lot more, and we find out that his version isn’t really the right one – and he doesn’t know it. I really enjoyed that part of the storyline. The shock and confusion from a vampire that always strives so hard to stay in control and all-knowing was a nice change of pace.
There are still a lot of loose ends at the conclusion of the book, but we do know that there are people working on “things” still. Again, this gave it less the feeling of an ending for Vlad and Leila and more of a feeling of a setup for what happens next – those two were just along for the ride.
