Contemporary

Dumplin' meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in this heartfelt and funny contemporary romance inspired by Dollywood, about two boys who fall in love against the backdrop of a country music-themed amusement park, from debut author Brian D. Kennedy. Perfect for fans of Erin Hahn, Phil Stamper, and David Levithan.

Emmett Maguire wants to be country music’s biggest gay superstar—a far reach when you’re seventeen and living in Illinois. But for now, he’s happy to do the next best thing: Stay with his aunt in Jackson Hollow, Tennessee, for the summer and perform at the amusement park owned by his idol, country legend Wanda Jean Stubbs.

Luke Barnes hates country music. As the grandson of Verna Rose, the disgraced singer who had a famous falling out with Wanda Jean, Luke knows how much pain country music has brought his family. But when his mom’s medical bills start piling up, he takes a job at the last place he wants: a restaurant at Wanda World.

Neither boy is looking for romance, but sparks fly when they meet—and soon they’re inseparable. Until a long-lost secret about Verna and Wanda comes to light, threatening to unravel everything.

Will Emmett and Luke be able get past the truths they discover…or will their relationship go down in history as just another Sad Country Love Song? 

Lola Barnes only wants one thing, to get her life under control. No more chasing alphas who abuse and toss away betas like her. No more hiding in her cousin’s apartment licking wounds that won’t heal. Armed with her dream job and her less than dreamy apartment, Lola is ready to start a new chapter of her life without alphas.
But that’s easier said than done when one stumbling incident after another leads Lola closer to an alluring pack of captivating men. These alphas are everything Lola dreamed of, but they already have an omega—a playful male model who won’t stop flirting with her. And Lola is only a beta, one who comes with deep scars and an unshakeable aversion to alphas and their powerful presences. If only she could resist their perfect beta, Leo, whose patience and determination to see her heal breaks down one wall after another.
When the alpha who all but destroyed Lola tries to start a game of cat and mouse that’s all claws, the safest place for Lola may be the one she’s most terrified of, in the arms of an alpha pack.

Victory is bittersweet when your life hangs in the balance. Threats are eradicated one by one, for us to find we’ve fallen into a trap of lies and false hope. A devised plan that took us by surprise by a man not bothering to hide in the shadows.

They’re not the only people hiding something.

I’ll be damned if I let them win. They don’t get to define me or determine my future. Nothing makes you fight harder than having the love and devotion of a Lamont man. Antonio will stop at nothing to protect his own–blood or not.

Second chances don’t come often in our world.

My name is Melody Cameron…
Or so I’ve been told.

When I wake up in the hospital with no memories, I’m shipped off to Denver to live with a distant cousin who knows nothing about me.
If family can’t help me remember my past, who will?

I don’t expect it to be a gorgeous hockey player ten years younger than me. He knows things about me he has no right to know.

Yet, he still keeps secrets.
He makes me work for every answer while he unlocks my desire—and fear.

Still. I’m blind. Naive.

And when his twisted obsession becomes apparent, it’s too late. For both of us.

"If you want to stay, you have to play the game…"

Steele O’Brien is everything I hate in hockey players.
He’s cocky, brooding, antagonistic.

I played his game, learned his secrets.
But that was before I found out he’s my new stepbrother.

Now we’re at college together, and I can’t escape him.
Or his demons.

It seems that, for him, the game isn’t over.
He says I'm his to play with. His to torment.
And he's determined to not only get under my skin, but carve his name into it.

Knox Whiteshaw is my husband.

He’s also an egotistical psychopath who refuses to divorce me—even when I ask nicely.

It doesn’t matter that I’m trying to move on with the goalie of his NHL team. Knox is dead set on ruining everything.

My upcoming wedding, my future, my sanity…

The man can hold a grudge like no other, and I am public enemy number one. I have been for six years, ever since he threatened me and stormed out of my life.

Now that we’re forced back in each other’s lives, it’s only a matter of who will break first: him or me.

Love is cheap. Love is cruel. Love can’t save us.

Victor Lang had everything—looks, money, fame. A chance to become the greatest swimmer in history. Until a failed dope test brought him crashing down.
According to the rumors, he turned into a recluse, a drug addict, a whore. Broken beyond repair. Incapable of love.
And for some reason, he’s set his sights on me.

A freak accident in his pool throws me into a world of wealth and status and people who are willing to do anything to get what they want. Before I know it, I’m being paid to fly to Italy and pose as his boyfriend. Trapped at his side, I learn what it means to truly hate someone.
Turns out, that’s exactly what he wants.

I can’t save him, and I can’t love him. But as things fall apart and I discover the truths he’s hiding, I learn that hate can be greater than love—an obsession, a prayer, dark days and darker nights, a need to be the only one who hurts him. Hate can heal the worst wounds love leaves behind.
But I have problems of my own, a broken spirit and loved ones to protect. And I’m scared to face the things he’s waking up inside of me.

 You can’t fly without falling, so close your eyes and let go.

People ask me if I’m human. If I have feelings. If I’ve ever loved anyone. I’m the lawyer who has never lost a case because I have nothing else to live for.
Until Jonah.
He’s my complete opposite: a reckless boy twelve years younger than me, made of sunshine and wicked smiles, pure and breathtaking.
It all starts with a secret. He wants to find out if he’s bi, and he begs me to teach him because we’ll never see each other again.
Until he shows up on my doorstep with nowhere else to go. I can’t draw lines faster than we blur them. He’s the unstoppable force; I’m the immovable object. When we collide, things get filthy. Complicated. More beautiful than I ever could have imagined.
He’s the only person ever to learn the truth: I’ve always been human. I’ve always had feelings. I’ve been so, so afraid to lose.
Because the moment we find enough trust to jump is the moment we realize our wings might be too broken to fly.

The books in this Water, Air, Earth, Fire Series take place in the same universe and have recurring characters, but each book is a standalone that can be read separately or in any order!

Wait for me. Never let me go.

I fell in love with Jackson Moreno in hell, the only two survivors trapped in a catastrophic tunnel collapse. But when rescue comes, I discover he has secrets darker than I could have guessed. He disappears from my life as quickly as he came, and I can’t afford to chase after him when I have to raise my daughter alone.

I fell in love with Jackson Moreno six years later, on a bright summer afternoon, cleaning the lobby of a small-town bank. But he’s still running, and I’m struggling to keep my little family afloat.

I fell in love with Jackson Moreno in three feet of snow, in the middle of nowhere, after we lost everything. Because sometimes a tatted bad boy and a shy dad who loves knitting are destined to be together, no matter how many years and miles and memories pull us apart. No matter how many times we have to start over.

If we refuse to be broken, I believe someday we’ll find each other for the last time.

The books in Water, Air, Earth, Fire series take place in the same universe and have recurring characters, but each book is a standalone that can be read separately or in any order!

The thief with a heart of steel.

The victim with a heart of gold.

It should be a recipe for disaster.

But from the moment scam artist Mac tries to dine and dash from perfect Eleanor's restaurant, an undeniable connection is forged between the two women.

Mac has scrimped, saved, and scammed her way through life. Eleanor has always been the good girl, the perfect student, girlfriend, and business owner. There's no reason on earth that they should belong together. Yet somehow, Eleanor ends up offering Mac a job. And that should be that. Until money starts to go missing...

One is perfect: rich, well educated, her life mapped out. One is flawed: broke, street smart, her life in shreds. But together they could build a dream. As long as they can accept that opposites attract.

Sparks fly and the air sizzles when Josh meets Greer disembarking a flight from London. Sparks, and a strange sense of familiarity…

Josh

I can’t believe I hit on my best friend’s little sister. In my defence, she’s changed since I last saw her ten years ago. A lot. I wish things were different, but there’s no way I’m going there.

Greer

Josh may think denying our connection is the right thing to do, but I’ve got news for him. And working together on renovating his new house gives me the opportunity I need to prove it to him.

Giving in to temptation puts everything Josh holds dear at risk, but not giving in might just break both their hearts.

This story features a reluctant hero with abandonment issues, a determined heroine with an unshakeable belief in love, a family who knows much more than they’re letting on and a grand gesture the whole of Sydney gets behind.

Author’s Note: Blueprint for Falling in Love is Book 2 in the Falling in Love Series, but it can be read as a standalone and has a guaranteed HEA. 

Gen

I’ve made my fortune from liberation, but I’m far more comfortable with discretion.

I’ve built the pre-eminent sex club in London, but I don’t play there.

Not publicly, anyway. Not beyond its darkest corners.

I talk the talk, but I don’t walk the walk. Not like my male co-founders do.

Because I’m the immaculate one. The flawless, perfectly turned-out woman who’s cultivated her glacial facade so carefully she’s scared the slightest smear will ruin it.

I want to run a sex empire and be taken seriously in the old boys’ club that is the business world. I want to be the poster child, not the plaything.

So I stay polished. Tasteful. Beyond reproach.

Until Anton Wolff joins Alchemy. He’s the UK’s most charismatic billionaire, and he’s looking for a club that’s as discreet as it is debauched. As classy as it is carnal.

I think I’ve seen it all, until he shares what he desires from his Alchemy experience.

And what he desires, above all else, is me.

The pull is mutual.

The tension is unbearable.

And the risk that he unveils me, seduces me into abandoning any vestige of control, is very, very, real.

I think I’m afraid of the Big, Bad Wolff.

Book Three in the Alchemy Series.

Nick and Charlie are best friends. Nick knows Charlie’s gay, and Charlie is sure that Nick isn’t.

But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is discovering all kinds of things about his friends, his family … and himself.

By Alice Oseman, winner of the YA Book Prize, Heartstopper is about friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.

Charlie didn’t think Nick could ever like him back, but now they’re officially boyfriends. Nick’s even found the courage to come out to his mum.

But coming out isn’t just something that happens once – there’s Nick’s older brother, and a school trip to Paris, not to mention all the other friends and family – and life can be hard, even with someone who loves you by your side. As their feelings get more serious, Charlie and Nick will need each other more than ever before.

You can never escape your past.

And Zach and Luke Calem are tired of running. With Blackheart in the rearview, they arrive at their new home with The Family in Northern Ireland.

Luke tries to stay away from the queen but finds it an impossible task. Leveraging his influence, he keeps the people closest to him safe, yet struggles to reconcile the person he desires to be with the role he must evolve into. Meanwhile, Zach will do anything to keep his brother from falling apart—except confront his own inner demons. Loyalty to Luke is questioned following a complicated relationship with the queen, and the twins grapple with their strengthening blood bond.

In the wake of Ascension—their induction into The Guard—their bond is tested as The Family closes in on fulfilling prophecy. Will Zach and Luke remain true to themselves and each other, or will fate prove stronger than brotherly blood?

What will break first?

The secret world of The Family is revealed. This haunting third installment of the This Blood that Binds Us series is darker than ever before. And part one to This Blood that Bonds Us, the fourth and final book in the series. Find heartbreaking family bonds that will leave you coming back for more.

One immature dare.

Two childhood enemies.

Three kisses to bring him to his knees ...

Clarissa Wilson hates Adam James - his dentist-white smile, his ridiculous body built of muscles-upon-muscles, and that movie-star swagger that carries him into every room. So, back in their hometown of Moonshine — sixteen years later — with a revenge body and a new name, it’s a guilty thrill when Adam wants her … and has no idea she’s the chubby girl he teased throughout school.

As ‘Lissy,’ she’s determined to live by her own rules and hide her old scars — meaning she needs a plan to deal with Adam, their past, and the present. Luckily, his cheeky dare offers Lissy the perfect opportunity for payback: she has three kisses, and three chances to seduce the man who ruined her life … then leave him in the dust.

But Adam is playing with her heartstrings and rewriting their history, revealing things aren’t what they seem. Now, Lissy must decide who she really is and what her heart desires, because three kisses can’t undo a lifetime of hate … right?


The Insufferable Adam James is a dual POV childhood enemies-to-lovers rom-com with a drool worthy MMC and a sassy FMC who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. It is part of the Moonshine Romance series of interconnected standalones, which can be read in any order.

TROY

Sometimes I want to punch that smirk off Atlas McCallister's pretty face.

He's cocky. A troublemaker. A pain.

And, unfortunately, my stepbrother.

We've been fire and kerosene since our parents got together, and to keep from exploding into fistfights, we've used challenges, dares, and bets to battle out our differences.

Our past bets have been a little inappropriate—scandalous, even—but Atlas's latest bet has gone too far.

Do I really believe if he loses, my straight stepbrother is gonna mess around with a guy? And not just any guy: me, his rival and nemesis?

Not a chance.

But if he's so confident he's gonna win...well, my big stepbro must not know me as well as he thinks...

ATLAS

I love getting under Troy's skin.

Mr. Former Prom King. Mr. Heartthrob. Mr. Infuriatingly Perfect. Messing with him is too easy. Too fun. Maybe that's why I'm a little obsessed with him.

Our latest bet is the perfect way for me to test the bisexual waters, and once I dive headfirst into the deep end, I don't want to stop.

With Troy. My stepbro.

It was supposed to be just a little fun, yet with each touch, I like him more than I should. It wasn't supposed to go this far. Now I want Troy to be all mine.

But what we're doing has bigger consequences than our little step bet, and when the stakes are this high, is it worth gambling our hearts when we know this is a game we both could lose?

This is the first book in the Peach State Stepbros Series. It can be read as a standalone.

Trigger Warning: The Step Bet is a steamy romance, but one of the secondary characters struggles with addiction. This may act as a trigger for some readers.

Things aren’t always what they seem.
Everyone in Wattle Junction knows about shy social worker Eloise Hamilton’s dream to travel the world. But here’s the kicker: the idea of leaving the small town she’s long called home makes her nauseous. So does the fact that her career to-do list is getting bigger by the day, her brother’s ridiculously over-the-top wedding is rapidly approaching and the only guy she’s ever wanted sees her as nothing more than a friend.

It’s also widely known that retired professional athlete-turned-author Nate James craves a quiet life. So what if he can’t keep his gaze off his best friend’s little sister. Nothing can ever happen with Eloise for so many reasons, especially when his new life is built on secrets. He’s determined to learn how to be content with what he has and stop dreaming about what—or who—he really wants.

But when new opportunities arise and circumstances keep throwing them together, can these two find a way to become the main characters in the love story they’ve always wished for?

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

That’s a life lesson Alice Aspinall, a reality TV starlet trapped in a fake marriage, has learnt the hard way. When her carefully curated life explodes, she flees to the small town of Wattle Junction. Trying to reinvent herself—again—while learning to stand on her own two feet is complicated and so are her feelings for her hot, new lawyer.

Owen James is a helper, despite what people say about his serious personality. He’s recently moved home to set up his law firm with a focus on making sure everyone who needs legal advice gets it. Think of him as Legal Aid … but with better biceps, two mortgages and a conscience that keeps him up at night. Another thing stealing his sleep? The sparkly, pretty newcomer who drives him up the wall while constantly surprising him.

As Alice and Owen’s attraction heats up and they get to know each other—and themselves—will they be able to see the reality right in front of them? Or will they remain blind to the truth?

I thought I’d feel broken after what happened.

Turns out killing the man who hurt me changed that.

When I’m back at school for my last few weeks of college, I find normalcy for the first time in months. Despite getting comfortable, I can’t give Rook and Oliver the answer they so clearly want, even if it’s not the one they want to hear.

They have to understand it’s not that easy.

Don’t they?

But following them across the country brings more than just new house problems and adjusting to their lifestyle. Issues from not so long ago come to light, and I realize I’m not as normal as I’d hoped to be, after killing my professor for what he did to me.

With a new ‘friend’ who offers me the help I need and Rook keeping secrets that prove he doesn’t trust me, it’s hard to rely on anyone for answers. Especially when old urges creep up my spine and I start looking for reasons to hurt someone for what I’ve seen him do.

When I’m no longer able to attribute my urges to an external predator, I’m forced to confront a terrifying possibility.

Maybe I’ve always been more like them than I thought

Pretty Little Monster is the third and final book in the pretty obsessions trilogy. It includes MMF, MFM, MM, and mature, murderous content.

There’s something off with my new stepbrother…something monstrous.

When my mom up and marries a man she doesn’t know, she uproots us from our home in upstate New York to live in the tiny, backwoods town of Bishop, buried deep in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

There’s something terribly wrong with this place.

But it’s not the creepy townsfolk that frighten me, or even my new stepdad—who definitely runs some kind of cult.

The real monster is Titus Leeds…my new stepbrother.

There’s a part of him that wants me to leave this place, to protect me. But there’s a darker side of him that wants me to stay.

A creature lurks in the forest, and it hungers for my soul. Maybe the only way to keep my soul safe is to let Titus Leeds claim it first.

“Make no fucking mistake, little lamb. I’m not saving you. Either the Elder One eats you…or I do.”

With Titus’s father dead, we were supposed to leave the Pine Barrens and never look back. But with a cult hunting us through the woods and an ancient evil slowly rising from its slumber…

We’re damned.

Cult rituals, creepy forest spirits and late-night chases through the graveyard are nothing when I have the most dangerous monster in the woods for a stepbrother.

Either way, Titus and I are bound for Hell, so we might as well have some fun on the fall down…

He thought ghosting was just a dating term…

Daring lawyer Gabriel Vane has his dream job, a luxury high-rise apartment, a glamorous lover, and a massive scandal on his hands, possibly connected to said lover. To save his career, he needs to vanish—and what better place to hide than a dilapidated Victorian house in a sleepy town? He expects nosy neighbors and bad plumbing, but not a peppy ghost with anxiety issues.

Eternal incorporeal life has its perks, but after decades of binging sitcoms and lifestyle magazines, Ida Huxley wants proper, human company. Too bad her newest tenant—and the first person able to see her in over a century—is a work-obsessed, cynical snob.

In exchange for some peace and quiet, Gabriel agrees to fulfill the terms of a mysterious contract that will allow Ida to pass on and not end up a vengeful spirit. When sparks (and haunted objects) begin to fly, they have to either risk their carefully planned futures, figure out how to get sensual in two different planes of existence—or somehow bring Ida back to life.

Sometimes one night is all it takes...

A year and a half of therapy has barely put a dent in the guilt Amanda McGregor still feels over her ex boyfriend. And she hasn’t even mentioned to her therapist how much she dislikes her body.

So when her flatmate Alison comes up with a plan to help Amanda get over her guilt - a plan that involves alcohol and flirting…and maybe a little pool sharking…Amanda goes along for the ride…

…Levi Fox has finally extricated himself from a toxic relationship, and he just wants to focus on his next goal - qualifying for the Australian Olympic Rowing Team. He’s not looking for a rebound hookup, and he’s definitely not looking for love when he heads out to his local pool bar for a few drinks with his mates…

Sparks fly when the pair meet, and things between the two escalate quickly. But life has a way of throwing a spanner in the works.

Levi faces a bombshell that explodes right in Amanda’s face, flinging the pair headfirst into a situationship with an expiry date that neither of them want to discuss. And with Levi’s ex stirring up trouble, dredging up Amanda’s past and present pain, is the mind blowing chemistry these two share enough for them to build something worth fighting for?

Georgina Menzies might be having a quarter-life crisis …

She just quit her eight-year career to work in television production. And when her boyfriend of two years calls to break up, all she feels is relief.

But that relief flies out the window when she discovers that her first job as showrunner is a documentary about a sexy Sydney vet—a man who, as an eighteen-year-old, broke her heart …

She’s determined to keep things professional … with maybe a couple of little tweaks, to punish him just a teeny bit …

***

When Xander Fox discovers that the woman producing his new documentary series is his high school sweetheart, and the girl who ghosted him after one stupid teenage mistake, twelve years of anger and bitterness resurface.

He’s determined to get through filming with the minimum of fuss … but how will that be possible when Georgie seems hell-bent on driving him insane?

Stuck together in a small town, all their old resentments, old hurts, and old chemistry re-ignite … and their frustration feels a hell of a lot like foreplay …

Sex and feelings are a volatile cocktail …

Katarina Drákos has a lot going on. She’s taking the first step towards a musical theatre career, her best friend might be getting deported, and she’s keeping a big secret from her mother.

Oh, and she just can’t stop thinking about the stranger who got her off in a nightclub, then vanished. The stranger who gave her a taste of exactly what she’s been looking for in a man – hot, kinky and dominant.

If only she’d had a chance to explore the explosive chemistry she felt with him …

... Dominic Fournier needs to be in control, especially when it comes to sex. So, when a beautiful mystery girl almost makes him lose it, he escapes just in time. Only he can’t get her out of his head.

When term begins and he returns to his vocal coaching job, his control is tested to its limit. Because the ingenue soprano he’ll be teaching – the one everyone has their eye on – is his mystery girl.

An hour, alone together in Dom’s classroom every week is torture unlike anything either of them have experienced…and it’s only a matter of time before one, or both of them, succumb to their desires…

But can they ever be more … when everything between them must remain a dirty little secret?

Sometimes one night is all it takes...

A year and a half of therapy has barely put a dent in the guilt Amanda McGregor still feels over her ex boyfriend. And she hasn’t even mentioned to her therapist how much she dislikes her body.

So when her flatmate Alison comes up with a plan to help Amanda get over her guilt - a plan that involves alcohol and flirting…and maybe a little pool sharking…Amanda goes along for the ride…

…Levi Fox has finally extricated himself from a toxic relationship, and he just wants to focus on his next goal - qualifying for the Australian Olympic Rowing Team. He’s not looking for a rebound hookup, and he’s definitely not looking for love when he heads out to his local pool bar for a few drinks with his mates…

Sparks fly when the pair meet, and things between the two escalate quickly. But life has a way of throwing a spanner in the works.

Levi faces a bombshell that explodes right in Amanda’s face, flinging the pair headfirst into a situationship with an expiry date that neither of them want to discuss. And with Levi’s ex stirring up trouble, dredging up Amanda’s past and present pain, is the mind blowing chemistry these two share enough for them to build something worth fighting for?