They say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer... but what are the rules for resisting your hot fake fiancé? Getting evicted right before the holidays wasn't on Leighton's Christmas list. Rather than inconvenience any of her blissfully happy friends or run home to her family in *gasp* Ohio, she turns to her last Los Angeles' newest soccer coach and her boss' best friend, Killian. From his sunny disposition to his infuriatingly good looks, Killian's got a knack for pressing all of her buttons. Well, almost all of them. So, why can't she stop thinking about unwrapping his package? Killian only has one Christmas to finally make Leighton Wheatley his. He's been harboring feelings for the buxom babe for almost a year, but between his anxiety, her prickly attitude, and I-10 rush hour traffic, something always seems to get in the way. But now they're staying under the same roof - during the most romantic time of year - and he's finally got the opportunity he's been hoping for. That is until her family pays them a surprise visit for the holidays. Suddenly, he's being upgraded from roommate to fake fiancé... and much to Leighton's surprise, there's nothing fake about his feelings. As it turns out, Christmas isn't the only one coming fast this year. Venice Actually is a low-angst, high-heat holiday romance novella. This book features a British, golden retriever hero with Ted Lasso energy and Roy Kent f*ckability, a mid-size, pansexual sass queen with a thing for knitting, baking as a love language, sexy times on the soccer field, sexy times in the shower, and (naturally) sexy times while watching Murder She Wrote. Content Warnings: For adult readers only due to explicit (consensual) sexual content, recreational drug use, anxiety rep, PCOS rep, menstruation, generational trauma, and discussions about the death of a parent.

When two high school sweethearts reunite, will they take another chance at love or let life sideline them at Christmas? Benched with a career-ending injury, NFL wide receiver Jahleel Walker is forced to return to his hometown of Peachwood Bay, Georgia, during the holidays to heal, despite his rocky relationship with his father. Nothing shocks him more than running into Lucille "Bebe" Gordon. Bebe Gordon came home to Peachwood Bay three years ago with a divorce certificate and her daughter. When Jahleel returns--for the first time in eight years--all the memories of the past come rushing back. The connection between them is still strong, but Jahleel has no plans to stay in Peachwood Bay, and Bebe won't risk him leaving her again. As their hometown's Christmas festivities bring them together, Jahleel must decide if he's only home for the holidays or if the Christmas spirit that brought them together will last all through the year.

Listening Length: 13 hours and 26 minutes A new winter holiday, enemies-to-lovers romance, from the undeniably funny and always spicy, USA Today bestselling author, Meghan Quinn. Living in a year around Christmas town has it's drawbacks. The caroling, the decorations, the insanely cheery spirit, it never disappears. It's why I like to hibernate away in my cave--I mean house--keeping a healthy distance from the holly jolly spirits. And all was going according to plan until my nemesis, Storee Taylor, moved in next door to care for her Aunt Cindy. Without blinking, she turned my simple world into a real nightmare-before-Christmas, especially when she decided to enter the town Christmas Kringle contest - which she was determine to win. Well guess what? Over my cold-hearted body. There was no way I was going to let her win, not after the history we'd shared. So despite my promise to myself of never participating in the sickening Christmas season, I entered the competition as well. That's right, I planned on beating Storee at her own game by pretending this grump’s heart grew three sizes this season. And it was working until feelings between us started heating up. We pretended to date. We kissed. And well, sparks flew from there. Which led to one explosive night involving Christmas lights, the competition, and a ladder. Don't let me convince you who stole Christmas, I think you need to find out for yourself . . .

Knives Out gets a holiday rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter. The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room three days before Christmas. Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt: She’s the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery. He’s Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy. She hates his guts. He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she’s told him otherwise.) But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself. That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone. She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust? As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth—and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor. Assuming they don’t kill each other first.

Two exes find themselves stuck at the same house for Christmas in this holiday romance by Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Iris Kelly Doesn't Date. It's been five years since Charlotte Donovan was ditched at the altar by her ex-fiancée, and she’s doing more than okay. Sure, her single mother never checks in, but she has her strings ensemble, the Rosalind Quartet, and her life in New York is a dream come true. As the holidays draw near, her ensemble mate Sloane persuades Charlotte and the rest of the quartet to spend Christmas with her family in Colorado—it is much cozier and quieter than Manhattan, and it would guarantee more practice time for the quartet’s upcoming tour. But when Charlotte arrives, she discovers that Sloane’s sister Adele also brought a friend home—and that friend is none other than her ex, Brighton. All Brighton Fairbrook wanted was to have the holliest, jolliest Christmas—and try to forget that her band kicked her out. But instead, she’s stuck pretending like she and her ex are strangers—which proves to be difficult when Sloane and Adele’s mom signs them all up for a series of Christmas dating events. Charlotte and Brighton are soon entrenched in horseback riding and cookie decorating, but Charlotte still won’t talk to her. Brighton can hardly blame her after what she did. After a few days, however, things start to slip through. Memories. Music. The way they used to play together—Brighton on guitar, Charlotte on her violin—and it all feels painfully familiar. But it’s all in the past and nothing can melt the ice in their hearts...right?

A charming slow-burn romantasy featuring a duty-bound noblewoman with a chronic illness, a prince who would rather be in a library than on a throne, and a magical ride through a world of cozy enchantment*This beautiful paperback edition features sprayed edges.*Bianca knows her duty comes before her heart. So when the threat of war looms, she agrees to marry the neighboring kingdom’s heir. But not all royal weddings are a fairytale, and Prince Aric, Bianca’s betrothed, is cold, aloof, and seems to hate her on sight.To make matters worse, on their wedding night, an assassination attempt goes awry―leaving Aric magically transformed into a horse. Bianca does what any bride in this situation would do: she mounts her new husband and rides away to safety.Sunset returns Aric to human form, but they soon discover the assassination attempt is part of a larger plot against the throne. Worse, Bianca has been framed for Aric’s murder, and she’s now saddled with a husband who is a horse by day and a frustratingly attractive man by night.As an unexpected romance begins galloping away with their hearts, Bianca and Aric must rely on each other to unravel the curse and save the throne.

She’s Texas's toughest bull rider, and he’s determined to win her heart. Dakota and Wyatt. Storm and sunshine. Growing up, they were as inseparable as a pair of cowboy boots. The best of friends—or so Dakota thought. Every summer, Wyatt would come home to his family’s flower farm in Granite Falls, Texas, and they’d stargaze in the fields, pinkies brushing, laughter rumbling with the cicadas, until one summer… he never came back. Dakota Cutler hasn’t heard a peep from Wyatt Patterson in over three years, and a lot has changed. He’s the hockey world’s golden-boy, and she’s developed a reputation as “The Cowboy Killer” for riding bulls and leaving men with broken hearts. After a string of one-night stands, the last thing Dakota needs is a distraction, but when her oldest childhood friend waltzes back into town, begging to move into her barn with the most adorable baby girl on his hip, everything changes. Wyatt Patterson’s back to get the girl he’s been obsessing over for years, and he’s doing everything to get her to see him as more than a friend—two-stepping at the Troubadour, jumping into Cibolo Creek, even rendezvousing in outdoor showers. All Dakota wants is to keep her distance from her ex-best friend, but when she learns the truth behind why Wyatt left, it turns out the scorching Texas sun might not be the only thing that burns them this summer.

When life lassoes Josie and Shawn back together three years after their dreamy first date, their second chance at love is anything but easy. A big-hearted rodeo romance set in Houston, Texas, by the critically acclaimed Liara Tamani, author of What She Missed, All The Things We Never Knew, and Calling My Name. This bold first-love story is for fans of Nothing Like the Movies and Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute. This ain’t Josie’s first rodeo. Her parents own several fancy restaurants in Houston, and they just opened a new one right outside the stadium. Josie is expected to stay inside the restaurant and help, and maybe take over their growing empire one day, but that isn’t what Josie wants. She’d rather be at the rodeo itself than in a high-end restaurant next to it. Or eating funnel cakes and Texas-sized corn dogs at the carnival on the grounds. Or better yet, riding her horse at her grandparents’ ranch, the very place her mom wants to sell. It ain’t Shawn’s first rodeo either. He’s been riding bulls since his mom died, doing everything he can to live up to his rodeo-champion stepfather’s sky-high expectations. But as Shawn’s stardom rises, so do tensions in their relationship. His stepfather’s drinking and gambling problems sure don’t help. After one unforgettable night leaves Josie and Shawn wanting nothing but each other, their lives become entwined in increasingly complex ways. Can they save Josie’s family land? Or will Shawn’s stepfather and his shady plan be the ranch’s ruin? Will one wrong move cost them everything? Rodeo after rodeo, year after year, can Josie and Shawn keep their hearts open through the secrets, twists, and turns? This Ain’t Our First Rodeo is a contemporary western love story full of bulls, brawls, and horses. It’s a tender second chance cowboy romance about family, friendship, mistakes, and the blessings of choosing to love anyway. Black cowboys and cowgirls like Josie and Shawn have long helped shape the American West—a legacy that shines in Liara Tamani’s storytelling. Her writing is quick-witted, swoony, and authentic, with characters who are easy to love and hard to forget.

Carlotta “Lottie” Veracruz’s idea of a happily ever after shatters when her diagnosis of PCOS and endometriosis leaves her unable to have kids and divorced. Two years later, she’s back in her hometown, Ceres Cove, living in her brother’s loft and working at the town’s only bookstore, all while plotting how she can get back to her high profile life in New York. When the bookstore owner passes away, one too many martini’s leaves grief-stricken Lottie to have a one-night stand with a man seven years her junior.After a childhood spent bouncing around cities with his single mom, freelance photographer Knox Riddick has no intention of putting down roots. But when he’s summoned to the small town Ceres Cove, Maine after his estranged father’s death, the last thing Knox expects is to inherit a percentage of a bookstore or for the other part of it to be left to the beautiful woman he last saw sneaking out of his hotel room days before. If Lottie and Knox want to have any chance of getting back to their lives, they must work together to fix up the bookstore and sell it. This means keeping their hands off one another, no matter how strong the temptation is. But the more time they spend together, the harder it is for Lottie to ignore her feelings, including her lingering fear that Knox will reject her once he learns she can’t have kids. And when they give into their desire for one another, they might learn firsthand why mixing business with pleasure always is a recipe for disaster!

For these rivals, the chemistry is lethal. From the acclaimed author of western romance Homebound comes a wickedly-funny, small town rom-com where two rival contract killers are hired for the same job—and must pretend to be married to survive.Sabrina and Lawton go together as well as Dom Perignon and Frito pie. They have nothing in common—except for the fact that they unalive people for a living. Sabrina’s a clever, Manhattan darling with a penchant for poison-tipped manicures. Lawton is a reckless, down-and-dirty cowboy who isn’t afraid to get the pigs involved in clean-up duty. They despise each other, and not just because of what happened two years ago… When they’re hired for the same surveillance job in cozy, postcard-perfect Wyoming, they quickly realize they’ll have to stop tossing out death threats if they want to get it done. There’s only one problem...they have to pose as an oh-so-happily married couple to get close to their targets, which means strolling through pumpkin patches and smiling on horseback rides—all while pretending they’re not fantasizing about what the other would look like in a coffin. Things get even messier when they start wondering if they’ve walked into a dangerous trap. And, more importantly, will they kill off any chance at something real before they make it out alive?

She’s Texas's toughest bull rider, and he’s determined to win her heart. Dakota and Wyatt. Storm and sunshine. Growing up, they were as inseparable as a pair of cowboy boots. The best of friends—or so Dakota thought. Every summer, Wyatt would come home to his family’s flower farm in Granite Falls, Texas, and they’d stargaze in the fields, pinkies brushing, laughter rumbling with the cicadas, until one summer… he never came back. Dakota Cutler hasn’t heard a peep from Wyatt Patterson in over three years, and a lot has changed. He’s the hockey world’s golden-boy, and she’s developed a reputation as “The Cowboy Killer” for riding bulls and leaving men with broken hearts. After a string of one-night stands, the last thing Dakota needs is a distraction, but when her oldest childhood friend waltzes back into town, begging to move into her barn with the most adorable baby girl on his hip, everything changes. Wyatt Patterson’s back to get the girl he’s been obsessing over for years, and he’s doing everything to get her to see him as more than a friend—two-stepping at the Troubadour, jumping into Cibolo Creek, even rendezvousing in outdoor showers. All Dakota wants is to keep her distance from her ex-best friend, but when she learns the truth behind why Wyatt left, it turns out the scorching Texas sun might not be the only thing that burns them this summer.

A Novel of High Fantasy and Low Stakes. After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time. The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success—not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is. If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won't be able to go it alone. But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.

When an injury throws a young, battle-hungry orc off her chosen path, she may find that what we need isn't always what we seek. In Bookshops & Bonedust, a prequel to Legends & Lattes, author Travis Baldree takes us on a journey of high fantasy, first loves, and second-hand books. Viv's career with the notorious mercenary company Rackam's Ravens isn't going as planned. Wounded during the hunt for a powerful necromancer, she's packed off against her will to recuperate in the sleepy beach town of Murk—so far from the action that she worries she'll never be able to return to it. What's a thwarted soldier of fortune to do? Spending her hours at a beleaguered bookshop in the company of its foul-mouthed proprietor is the last thing Viv would have predicted, but it may be both exactly what she needs and the seed of changes she couldn't possibly imagine. Still, adventure isn't all that far away. A suspicious traveler in gray, a gnome with a chip on her shoulder, a summer fling, and an improbable number of skeletons prove Murk to be more eventful than Viv could have ever expected.

The brokenhearted billionaire visits Cozy Creek to escape. I never expected to become his fake girlfriend or fall madly in love...but here we are. My first impression of Zane Alexander isn't great. The second is worse, but when he forces me to hang out with him, I can’t say no. We quickly go from familiar strangers to flirty friends.When my ex returns, Zane flawlessly pretends to be my boyfriend to protect me. He’s so damn good at it, I almost believe it. Afterward, we devise a plan to fake date through the holidays. I become his plus one and he becomes mine.I don’t know when our relationship moves from pretending to passionate, but I catch feelings. As our exes desperately crawl back into our lives like zombies, I realize there is only one man for me, and (f)all I want is him.FALL I WANT is a spicy autumn-inspired small-town romantic comedy with a billionaire who falls first and harder. Grab a pumpkin spice latte, a warm fuzzy blanket, and make your way down to Cozy Creek. Each book in the series is a complete stand alone with a happily ever after.