Contemporary Books

Can falling in love melt the hearts of the iciest ice queens? 

Going back to college is never easy, but Caroline Stevens is prepared to work hard and change her life for the better. What she’s not prepared for is Dr. Atlanta Morris, her new professor whose tough demeanor is no match for Caroline’s burgeoning confidence.

Closed-Door Policy was previously published in Hot Ice: Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2019).

Fate intervenes on behalf of love when characters are unexpectedly stuck together. With too much time and an irresistible attraction anything could happen.

In EF5 by Kris Bryant, wedding photographer Alyssa Bates is running late to a job she desperately needs when officer Katy Emerson pulls her over for speeding. She gets a warning from the sexy woman in uniform and the sirens alerting them to an approaching tornado. Their only option is to shelter in an abandoned diner where they must resist temptation and fight for their lives. 

In Trapped Tycoon by Amanda Radley, trainee investor Clara Foster spends her weekend at the office catching up on paperwork when the ice queen owner Francesca Burford arrives. Francesca doesn’t know who the shy employee is, and she doesn’t much care, until they attempt to leave the office at the same time and get trapped in an elevator.

In Wings Over Boston by Emily Smith, flight paramedic Ryland Matthews and pilot Tess Goodwin have an uncomplicated past that included a no-strings tryst before they went their separate ways and never looked back. That is, until a medical emergency and an unlikely coincidence leaves them grounded together in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do but relive history and ignite the passion neither can forget.

When your parents name you and your three siblings after flowers, the world is stacked against you. At least, that’s how Aster Lavender feels. The youngest daughter, Aster always keeps her head down and lets her siblings stand in the spotlight. She sells her gourmet doughnuts from Hole in One, the small drive-through stand in sleepy Homer’s Bluff, Kansas, and daydreams about seeing the big beautiful world. Love is never going to happen, especially when the only other lesbians in town are already married to each other.

Beautiful Brynn Garrett arrives to fill in for Homer Bluff’s only veterinarian, and suddenly every pet in town is sick. Brynn’s older, smarter, and way out of Aster’s league. Plus, she’s only in town temporarily and definitely running from something. Aster didn’t plan for a connection so strong it knocks the wind right out of her, but Brynn makes her feel like anything but a wallflower.

A chance meeting and a no-strings rendezvous in Las Vegas has chemistry flaring between Blair Haskell and Rachel Taylor. But long-distance relationships rarely work, and Blair’s still kind of hung up on the woman back home who broke her heart. When Blair’s friend Morgan hears about her wild night in Vegas, she doesn’t let the opportunity for a wager slide. Morgan proposes a bet: which of them can get Rachel into bed again?

Blair doesn’t buy in—after all, Morgan is the player, not her. But then Blair and Rachel unexpectedly meet again and share a passionate weekend affair. Blair is sure Rachel isn’t interested in anything more, but as her attraction spirals out of control, she’s in danger of falling.

Can a one-night stand turn into forever despite the odds? Or will the bet Blair never intended to make ruin their chances for a happily ever after?

Gwen Jamison has been attracted to her best friend Taylor for years but has kept her feelings masked as friendship. Left behind by her mother at age nine, then by her first love eight years later, she’s vowed never to trust her heart to anyone. It’s easier to have casual relationships than risk falling in love.

Taylor Matthews has no interest in a relationship. The one and only time she lost herself in love it cost her four years of her life. Never again. In the three decades since, she’s turned her life around, built a successful career, established solid friendships, and had plenty of women, sex, and fun. No complications, no entanglements, no regrets—until Gwen.

Just as Gwen and Taylor are exploring the new love they’ve found, the present and past collide, threatening the future they long to share.

An Embracing the Dawn Romance.

Efficiency expert Perry Chandler lives what she preaches on her internationally popular podcast. She wakes at exactly the same time to begin her precisely scheduled day with no wasted minutes. Perry’s entire life is planned in advance, which is exactly how she likes it. How else do you get anything done?

Holistic, naturopathic physician Ming Lee greets every sunrise with arms outstretched as she opens herself to the earth’s slow, steady rhythm. Millions follow her podcast on how to live a healthier life by refusing to get caught up in the idea you must hustle to be successful. After all, what’s the point of life if you don’t enjoy it?

Perry and Ming are both sure they hold the key to success until the attraction sizzling between them, and the three rambunctious mutts they’re unexpectedly responsible for, teach them lessons in life and love that they never imagined.

Hannah Kennedy gave birth to her daughter Cassidy after a successful in vitro procedure, and her life couldn’t get any better. She never planned on losing her wife just two years later and raising Cassidy on her own. When she turns eighteen, Cassidy wants to discover which traits she inherited from the anonymous sperm donor and which came from her mother. To her shock, she learns Hannah is not her biological mother.

When Maggie Walsh shows up wanting a relationship with the daughter she never knew she had, the heat kindled between Hannah and Maggie is not entirely romantic. The love they have for Cassidy will tear all three women apart and bring them together in ways no one could have conceived.

Can falling in love melt the hearts of the iciest ice queens? 

Cassidy Bennett spends an unexpected evening at a lesbian nightclub with her notoriously reserved and demanding boss, successful venture capitalist Julia Whitmore. After seeing a different side of Julia, Cassidy can’t seem to shake her desire to know more.

Private Equity was previously published in Hot Ice: Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2019).

Sarah Campbell told one tiny white lie.

When her tech-giant employer moves her to a cottage on a small Scottish island to work on a classified, controversial, and potentially world-saving project, Sarah must keep her eco-terrorist mother in the dark to prevent her from disrupting everything. Sarah's cover story—she's fallen in love, she and her girlfriend are escaping the bustle of the city, she couldn’t be happier… But Sarah’s better at firewalls than real walls, and when she arrives at the run-down cottage, she quickly discovers she needs help. 

Pippa Kent is a widowed, semi-retired structural engineer who’s done with love. She fills all her free time running a handywoman service on the island. When Sarah calls Pippa out for the most basic repairs, Pippa can’t help but wonder—often out loud—how anyone could be so inept at home maintenance.

Then Sarah’s mother suddenly decides to visit and meet her daughter’s wonderful new partner. With little option, Sarah begs Pippa to be her fake girlfriend. Only the more time they spend faking it, the less pretend it feels.

Ang Kennedy used to love riding a bike, but now spends all her time chasing paychecks and lofty titles. When her latest ambition to move into the big corner office unexpectedly falls through, she realizes she was chasing someone else’s dream and quits her job. Unsure what she really wants in life, Ang returns to the one thing that used to make her happy: her bike.

Krista Ólafsdóttir dreamed of owning her own bicycle shop since she first started to shadow her uncle at his store. There’s nothing like the freedom of riding. Her uncle retires and the bike shop became hers, but she finds that running a business is a lot more complicated than she expects.

An encounter in a park brings Ang and Krista together, but when Ang's attempts to help Krista go spectacularly wrong, their passion for each other might not be enough to see them to the finish line.

Bridget Berg grew up on the slopes of Elk Mountain, Utah. The daughter of a famous downhill skier, she was chasing her own Olympic dreams when her father’s unexpected death forced her to take over his ski lodge. It’s her home and she’ll protect it at all costs—especially from her insufferable neighbors.

Kennedy Fleming is only in Utah to put her dad’s vacation home on the market. She has no interest in living there. That is, until she meets her sexy redheaded neighbor. Sure, she’s rude and unwelcoming, but Kennedy isn’t one to shy away from a challenge.

When Kennedy makes a discovery that could cause Bridget to lose everything, she’s forced to choose between her family and her heart. There’s a mountain of history between their families, but as tempers rage and sparks fly, they’re about to discover that a love worth fighting for is right in front of them.

Who doesn’t want to believe in true love? Ten years ago, Savannah Edwards agreed to be a contestant on the lesbian dating show When Sparks Fly. The last thing she expected was to fall in love and get dumped on national television. When she’s invited to be the next bachelorette for the ten-year anniversary show, she makes up her mind that this time she’ll show the world that finding true love on television can really happen.

Lauren Lucas breathed life into a show that was on the brink of cancellation. Her charm as the host of When Sparks Fly catapulted it to a nationwide hit. Her own love life is in shambles, but she puts on a dazzling smile and pretends that love isn’t heartbreak waiting to happen.

Every week, Lauren watches Savannah date other women and tries to ignore the spark. When the cameras stop rolling and their attraction becomes impossible to deny, will they take a chance on real-life love and abandon the reality TV fairy tale?

Can falling in love melt the hearts of the iciest ice queens?

All’s fair in love and roller derby. That’s Riley Fauchet’s motto, until a new job lands her at the same company—and on the same team—as her rival Brooke Landry, the frosty jammer for the Big Easy Bruisers.

Ice on Wheels was previously published in Hot Ice: Romance Novellas (Bold Strokes Books, 2019).

Corey Durand doesn’t trust easily and the rumors surrounding the devastating end of her last relationship have only just died down. All she wants is peace and quiet to run her ranch. But in moves her feisty next-door neighbor, Brin, and everything gets thrown into chaos. Brin’s younger, vibrant, and full of sass. Her five-year-old autistic niece loves Corey and the ranch, and Corey hasn’t figured out how to befriend the little girl while avoiding her aunt.

One stormy night, everything changes. Brin’s fixer-upper house is damaged by lightning, and she doesn’t have the money to fix it. The town heartthrob has his gaze fixed on her and insists on helping. Trouble is, he pays more attention to Brin than the repairs. Corey has no choice but to step in and do the job right which sets off the town’s gossip mill—the very last thing she wants.

Corey and Brin will need to overcome wounds from the past, the heartthrob who can’t take a hint, and more than their share of salacious gossip to take a chance on love.

Author Wyatt Whitlock is one of the biggest names in action thrillers and writes for the largest publisher in the business. She’s extremely private and writes prolifically—well, until recently. Writer’s block may spell the end of her career if she can’t figure a way around it. A drastic change in scenery and a really old house in New Orleans could get her creativity going again, but renovating the house she bought on a whim might just kill her.

Hayley Fox has put in her time as an assistant to an assistant in publishing, and it’s finally paid off. She’s been hired by a firm in New Orleans and she’s planning to use that as a springboard to the big leagues in New York, if only her sexy new neighbor—whose bare windows face Hayley's—didn’t make staying put an oh-so-tempting option.

Wyatt and Hayley might be made for each other if only they can get through nosy neighbors, the historical society, at-odds future plans, and all the secrets hidden in Wyatt’s walls.

Audrey Adams would do anything for her aunt Ernestine. When Ernestine suffers a stroke, Audrey takes a leave from her fast-track CPA career to care for her. Only Ernestine’s hobby farm needs more tending than the patient herself. Audrey’s bitten off way more than she can chew, or harvest, or plant, or… How does one do hobby farming, anyway? 

Enter her neighbor Rowan Marshall, the sexy cider maker. Rowan’s only too happy to come to Audrey’s rescue. Which is all well and good until Audrey realizes Rowan’s angling to buy the orchard that makes up more than half of Ernestine’s pride and joy. 

It’s not long before a reluctant truce gives way to a romantic spark and forces Audrey to make the biggest decision of her life.

Olivia Lewis’s really big mistake has cost her the chance for forever with Emily White and her five-year-old son, Henry. Brokenhearted, she deals with romantic failure in the only way she knows how—by throwing herself into her work. Timely, considering her clients are leaving Applewood Financial in their dozens, and she doesn’t know why. Things go from bad to much, much worse when Olivia’s plane all but crashes into the tarmac and a chance encounter sends her straight back to Emily.

Emily doesn’t have time for forgiveness. She’s lost her job at Crown Airlines, and with no income, rising debts, and Henry’s unscrupulous grandfather making demands, romance is the least of her problems. But Henry really wants his friend Olivia back, and he’s not taking no for an answer.

For a second chance, Olivia and Emily will need to accept their mistakes, learn to communicate properly, and with a little help from Henry, fall madly in love all over again.

Book 2 of the Flight Series

First publication 2017