Jodie Slaughter

Tattoo artist Whitney Harris loves Valentine’s Day. The bright colors, giant hearts, and sugary sweet coating that seems to cover the world on February 14th make her feel all kinds of warm and fuzzy inside. She may be more festive than the average person, but her plans for her long weekend off are pretty tame. As long as she gets to stay in her bed, marathon a ton of romantic movies, and eat at least three of her favorite pink heart cupcakes, she’ll count it as a win. The very last thing she expects is for a handsome stranger to get in the way of that. The only thing Victor Grant enjoys more than being a barber is Valentine’s Day. For him, it’s all about the experience of romance and the possibility of forever. The man loves love and he’s determined to be apart of his own great love story someday. Even if that means taking a few losses along the way when things don’t work out. Just when he thinks his Valentine’s Day has turned into a total bust, a beautiful stranger crashes into his life and suddenly makes his long weekend a lot more interesting. A near-disastrous first meeting brings them together, but with both chemistry and desire running high, one sexy night together doesn’t feel nearly enough like true satisfaction.

The first time Aja Owens encounters the man of her dreams, she’s having a panic attack in the frozen foods section of the Piggly Wiggly. The second time, he’s being introduced to her as her favorite bingo buddy’s semi-estranged grandson. From there, all it takes is one game for her to realize that he’s definitely going to be a problem. And if there’s anything she already has a surplus of, it’s problems. In Walker Abbott’s mind, there are only two worthwhile things in Greenbelt, South Carolina. The peach cobbler at his old favorite diner and his ailing grandmother. Dragging himself back after more than a decade away, he’s counting down the days until Gram heals and he can get back to his real life. Far away from the trauma inside of those city limits. Just when he thinks his plan is solid, enter Aja to shake everything up. A hastily made bingo-based sex pact is supposed to keep this…thing between them from getting out of hand. Especially when submitting to their feelings means disrupting their carefully balanced lives. But emotions are just like bingo callers—they refuse to be ignored. Jodie Slaughter's Bet on It is a heart-stoppingly fun, emotional romance that will have readers falling in love until long after the last page is turned.

“I want to give you my gratitude someplace other than that pretty mouth of yours.” - Javier MezaThe sudden and tragic death of her mother throws Hannah Hawkins into a position she doesn’t feel at all prepared for. With the duty of leading her family’s decades-long moonshining business weighing heavy on her shoulders, the last thing she needs is something making her transition even harder. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what she gets. A band of vicious new players has arrived in small-town Harlan, Kentucky, and while what they really want remains a mystery, it quickly becomes clear they’re willing to stoop to dark lengths to get it. To fight off a beast, Hannah realizes she needs to join forces with a rival. Javier Meza may be the sole heir to his family’s moonshining empire, but he’s certainly no leader. He has no head for business or diplomacy, preferring to spend his days in the trenches, making corn liquor with the rest of the “cooks.” That doesn’t mean he isn’t more than willing to step up and take charge when his family finds themselves in danger. Forming a shaky partnership with the Hawkins family is one thing, but marrying Hannah Hawkins to keep their deal on the straight and narrow is something else entirely. From All Things Burn author, Jodie Slaughter comes a multicultural romance about illegal white whiskey, a marriage of convenience between decades-long rival families, and Black Appalachia. Readers of Kenya Wright, Theodora Taylor, and Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley will enjoy this full-length romance novel with a strong heroine, swoon-worthy hero, and a very satisfying HEA.

A woman forced to take dark, desperate measures for the sake of her safety seeks out a man who deals exclusively in doling out death sentences. What sparks between them is just as unavoidable as it is life-changing. Halle Temple is a good person; she doesn’t know anything as surely as she knows that. A successful black woman who uses her expensive law degree to work full-time at a women’s legal aid center, she has no doubt that her entire existence is being spent in the service of others. That perfectly normal life takes a deadly turn, however, when she crosses paths with a man who is willing to go to extreme measures to take possession of her. After he sets his threats on her family, Halle begins to question every moral she has ever held dear as she realizes that there is only one way to get him out of her life for good. To do that, though, she needs a bit of help. Callum Byrne is an Irish-American hitman who has made a life out of robbing others of their own. Darkness has always lurked inside of him and he has no qualms about setting it free - especially for profit. Halle enters his life suddenly, bringing with her an intensity that he has never felt before. It isn’t long before Callum’s narrow view of himself is twisted and challenged. As the job she’s given him becomes more complicated by the minute...so do Callum’s feelings for her. Content Warning: this book contains themes of violence and murder as well as mentions of domestic violence.

A decade ago, Naomi Porter confessed her love to the handsome, enigmatic sculptor her artist mother mentored. Ten years her senior and seemingly uninterested, his rejection sent her reeling...then it sent her running as far away from him as possible. Now, he’s more successful than ever, and she’s a burnt-out personal assistant in desperate need of a vacation. Only, she’s too broke to afford a real one. Her mother’s solution? Calling in a favor from an old friend and getting her daughter a week-long stay in the luxe guesthouse of a gorgeous home in the California desert — all for free. The only drawback is that the house belongs to Ira Mack, the man she humiliated herself in front of all those years ago. The man who has somehow managed to become even more compelling in their separation. As desperation sets in, she finds herself with no real choice but to take him up on his offer. The tension between the two is palpable and only manages to grow more intense by the second. But their past is too painful for Naomi to ignore, no matter how longing his looks are or how heated his words make her feel. When the world implodes less than a week into her stay and Covid-19 clenches the world in its terrifying fist, Ira makes her an offer—A place to stay rent free until the world puts itself back together. But, every day, the possibility of that happening seems to get farther and farther away. And Naomi is forced to deal with both what she wants out of her life, and the man she’s finding it increasingly more impossible to consider running away from again.

Jodie Slaughter's latest rom-com, Play to Win , is a sizzling romance where a winning lottery ticket is meant to be a new start but instead becomes a second chance at love. Miriam Butler’s life is going nowhere in the slowest, most excruciating way possible. Stuck in the same barely-paying job she’s had since she was sixteen and spending every night sleeping in the spare twin bed in her mother’s house, her existence might be hilarious if it wasn’t so bleak. One trip to her favorite corner store upends everything when she finds herself the winner of a Mega Millions Lottery Jackpot. Unfortunately, not even life-altering roses come without their painful thorns. Hers just so happen to be in the form of an estranged husband who has the right to claim his share of her money. It’s been eight years since Leo Vaughn has had a conversation with his wife. When she calls out of the blue, practically begging him to come back to Greenbelt, the last thing he expects her to tell him when he gets there is that she’s come into a whole heap of money. She offers him a life-changing proposition of his own. Take a lump sum, finally sign the divorce papers, and be done with her for good. Only, a forever without her is the last thing Leo wants. So he gives a proposition of his own. One that won’t cost her nearly as many millions, but will buy him the time to do the one thing he’s been hungry to do since he left -- win her back.