BOOK SALE ALERT: By the Hour is $1.99!

For the first time ever, By the Hour is on sale for $1.99! This sale is only temporary so grab it while you can. :) And even though it’s book 2 in the series, don’t worry, you can jump in without having read book one.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

From the New York Times bestselling author of Off the Clock comes a story of love, hate, and the fire that ignites when the two collide... 

Dr. Elle McCray has a plan. Work hard. Be the best. And do it alone. After her ex-husband’s betrayal, she’s learned being feared is a hell of a lot easier than being humiliated. So when trouble personified, Lane Cannon, dares to flirt with her, she shuts him down cold. Too gorgeous. Too cocky. And his job as The Grove’s sexual surrogate is to sleep with patients. No, thank you.

Former escort Lane Cannon has spent enough years with people looking down on him. Stupid. Trailer trash. Rent boy. He’s heard it all. He’s worked too hard to shed his past to let some haughty doctor cut him down. But something about Elle’s ice queen act has his dominant instincts perking up and his body taking notice. He can’t walk away.

After an evening of verbal sparring turns into a night of steamy hate sex, Lane’s ready for round two. But Elle proposes a business deal. How better to keep things strictly physical than to pay him for his services? 

Lane wants her, not her money. But he’ll play along in exchange for one thing—all the control. It’s only supposed to be a dirty little fling between colleagues, but these two are about to learn a lesson in love…by the hour.

BUY THE EBOOK: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks 

READ CHAPTER ONE

6 Book Recommendations for 6 Different Moods

I can’t believe it’s November already. October went by in a whirlwind. Maybe that was because I was reading reading reading like a maniac. I had set a goal to read two books in October because I knew it was going to be a busy month, but I ended up reading NINE. All in between writing 30k words on my new book, so October was a month of lots of words for me!

But that’s good news for you because that means I have book recommendations. :-) And because I’m working on my Read Wide reading challenge, the recs fall across various genres and are pretty different from each other. So I thought it’d be fun to give recs based on the reading mood you might be in.

Ready? Let’s go!

1. I am overwhelmed, and I need an easy, page-turning read that will not stress me out and will give me the warm and fuzzy romance feeling.

Smooth-Talking Cowboy by Maisey Yates

Maisey’s books are where I go when I need a sure thing, feel-good read. Her characters are likable, the love scenes hot, and the story fun.

2. I’m feeling a little down and I want a sweet read that’s going to make me smile.

Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

This story of two teen boys falling for each other, one a Mormon, is a sweet, moving story of young love. I adored the fun voice of the main character, and it had the right amount of angst to make you worry for them.

3. I am in a really good place and can handle a beautiful, epic read that’s going to rip my heart out and (kind of) put it back together again. (Or I’m in need of a good, hard cry.)

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Okay, y’all. ALL the warnings here. If you are in any way feeling down or depressed, don’t pick up this book yet. It’s an emotional wringer. I’m glad I read it on a sunny vacation in Phoenix to offset the heartbreaking story. Having said that, it was a beautiful, amazing story. And the setting of the Alaska in the 1970s was so well drawn that I felt like I was there. It’s one of those books that I’m happy I read but that I couldn’t read again, if that makes sense. It gutted me. The ending is hopeful. I wouldn’t recommend one with a completely tragic ending, but don’t go in looking for an “Ahh” feeling happily ever after. (Also trigger warnings for domestic violence.)

4. I’m looking for something totally different, and I have time to listen to a story during a commute or during chores.

Dead Air by Gwenda Bond, Carrie Ryan, and Rachel Caine

Now for something a little different…Dead Air is on the new platform/app for serial stories Serial Box. The story is told in episodes and has full sound effects and such, so it’s different from a straight up audiobook.

I was curious about the format so I started listening to Dead Air while I was washing dishes and driving. I got hooked after probably two episodes, and that’s saying something because, though I listen to a lot of non-fiction in audio, I have yet to get into fiction audiobooks. This one held my attention. And I didn’t figure out the mystery ahead of time. There’s also a new adult romance mixed into the story. I believe you can try the first episode free if you want to see what it’s like. If you like it, you can buy the whole season for the price of a book.

5. I’m already missing Halloween, and I’m looking for a scary book that will have me peeking out my windows to check that no one’s out there.

The Surviving Girls by Katee Robert

I happened to be reading this book the same week that I saw the new Halloween movie. This book and that movie have a lot in common. It’s about a survivor (or survivors) going up against a human monster that ruined their lives in a tragic way when they were teens. In this case, two women who survived a sorority row slaying are being hunted again by the killer (or are they?) This is a thriller, but it also has a strong horror feel to me. There is a minor romance in it as well.

(This one is free in Kindle Unlimited if that’s your jam.)

6. I’m in the mood to learn something.

Overdressed by Elizabeth L. Cline

I got this in audiobook from my library, and I found it really eye-opening. If you ever wonder why those tops at the store can be sold for five dollars (or wonder if they should be that cheap) and why pretty much any clothing you buy these days falls apart after a few washes, this book will answer those questions. Be warned, it’s one of those topics you can’t “unsee” once you know about it. It’s made me look at clothes shopping through a whole new lens. Also, if you get this in audiobook, the narrator takes a little getting used to.

All right, those are the six picks I have for you today. What have you read lately that you loved? Are you a mood reader?

Roni Recommends: Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I have made no secret that I love Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books, and I think because I love them so much, I’ve taken them slow. I haven’t devoured her backlist because I don’t want it to run out too quickly. So I’ve had Maybe In Another Life on my shelf for probably about a year. But I finally hit a moment where it felt like the right time to read it. I’m so glad I did!

I love that Reid tends to make her books about a particular question. The question explored in Maybe In Another Life: Can we change our fate by making the smallest decision? Like if we turn left on the street instead of right, does our entire life change? Or are we destined to end up how we end up? This also plays with the concept of soulmates, which she’s explored in other books as well. Do we only have one?

So the premise of this story is that the main character, Hannah, goes to her a bar with her friend. In one scenario, she says yes to going home with her ex-boyfriend from high school. In the other scenario, she turns him down. What follows is a story told in two separate timelines. One follows the first version of Hannah and what happens if she says yes. The other story is if Hannah says no.

This story is heartbreaking at times, but I promise, y’all, this isn’t a sad book. That’s what I love about Reid’s books. She makes you worry about how things might turn out, but then she always gives a satisfying ending (even if it’s not the ending you guessed.) I found the book very life-affirming. It had great characters, romance, and made me think. I am very stingy with rating things 5 stars in my reading journal. This is only the 4th novel I’ve read this year out of almost 60 that got that rating from me. Highly recommended!

About the book:

From the acclaimed author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?

Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.

Buy the book: Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo

A Quick, Satisfying Short Story (and it's free!): Evidence of the Affair

Typically, I’m not a short story reader. I have nothing against them and have even written a few that are tucked into the back of some of the paperback versions of my books, but I don’t often gravitate to reading them. I think there are a number of reasons for this. One, often short stories fall under the literary fiction category, and I’m more of a commercial fiction gal. Two, I like to be immersed in a story and short stories have less time to get me into that state. Three, I don’t know if it’s just been my luck, but the short stories I’ve read have often had no real ending or are super grim, and they’ve left me with a “what was the point of that?” feeling.

However, I’m happy to report that none of those are the case in the one I’m recommending today. I’m not even sure how Evidence of the Affair came into my line of sight. I’m sure the Amazon recommending machine was at work. But when I saw the cover (I love mid-century modern architecture—though I’m freaked out by all the windows now after reading I’ll Be Gone in the Dark), my attention was snagged. Then I saw it was written by Taylor Jenkins Read, who has written some of my favorite books of the last decade or so of my reading life. That’s all I needed to know. I was in. Bonus surprise: the short story is free if you’re an Amazon Prime member or if you have Kindle Unlimited. (If not, the 1.99 price is still a steal.)

This story is set in the 1970s (another thing I loved about it) and told all through letters. I love stories told in interesting ways, and the epistolary format really worked here. The main letters being exchanged are from the spouses of the cheating partners. One discovers the affair and writes to the other. Interspersed are letters between the cheating couple. I wasn’t sure where the story would go and it kept me guessing (and got me worried at points), but I will say that it was a satisfying ending.

So, if you’re looking for something a little different or for a quick read to get out of a reading slump (or to beef up your reading challenge numbers!), I recommend picking up Evidence of the Affair. If you like her writing style, I highly recommend tracking down her backlist. I’m still working my way through hers, but One True Loves has been my favorite so far.

Happy reading!

Any good short stories to recommend?

Roni Recommends: Two Feel-Good Reads for Your Weekend

First, I just want to say I’m sending good thoughts to those on the east coast who are dealing with Hurricane Florence today. I hope you all are staying safe. As I mentioned earlier in the week, I was supposed to be in Maryland this weekend for a signing at Nora Roberts’ bookstore Turn the Page. Because of the weather and the fact that I would’ve been flying through the hurricane zone, I had to cancel. But I will be working with the bookstore to reschedule sometime in 2019.

Okay, on to the books! This week I’ve been in the mood to read something fun and fluffy. And I say “fluffy” with the upmost respect, by the way. My definition of fluffy is a book that is a page-turner that makes me laugh and smile and get all the warm and fuzzy feels. Fluffy is actually really hard to pull off. So I was delighted this week to not just fine one but TWO great books that fit the bill.

I devoured these two books, reading them in every little crevice of time between work and family stuff, and now I have the dreaded BOOK HANGOVER. I tried to read something new last night and picked up three different books, read the first chapters, and was like…meh. Book hangovers are both the best (yay it means I’ve read a fantastic book) and the worst (now nothing seems to live up to it.)

So, first up, is a book you’ve probably seen everywhere because it’s a new release by the popular writing duo, Christina Lauren. Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating is the third book I’ve read by Christina Lauren this year, so that’s saying something because I tend not to read a bunch of books by the same author in a short span of time. (Weird reader quirk.) The only author recently who had me doing that was Colleen Hoover. So this is a rarity. I think what I like so much about the Christina Lauren books is that they have a lot of humor and a great voice. Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating was no exception.

This book was a romantic comedy with the friends-to-lovers trope (a trope I adore.) Josh and Hazel are friends and decide to help set each other up on dates, and they keep going on these awful, often funny double dates. Hazel is kind of a manic-pixie-dream-girl type but with more substance so she’s very zany, over the top, and totally accepting that she is who she is. Josh is the quieter, more thoughtful type. But together, they were a really fun pair to watch. I laughed aloud a number of times. It’s a really cute book that will leave you feeling good, so if you’re looking for a pick-me-up, you can’t go wrong here.

Next up is Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, a YA contemporary with a romance. Somehow I have managed to never read a Sarah Dessen novel. I’m not even sure how that is possible. I had three of her books on my e-reader, so clearly I am attracted to the premises in her books, but I’ve managed to not read a one. I have now fixed this—hurrah!—and I’m so glad I did.

Along for the Ride is a story about Auden’s last summer before she goes to college. She lives with her very pretentious professor mother but decides to spend the summer in a beach town with her father, his new wife, and their new baby. Auden was a hard character to connect with upfront because she is so self-contained and has been trained to basically be all work and no play. She’s also supremely lonely and doesn’t know how to connect with kids her own age.

However, once she moves in with her dad, she begins getting exposed to all kinds of things her rigorously academic upbringing has not afforded her. Making friends with girls her age, meeting a boy she likes, and doing fun activities that have nothing to do with academics. There is a sweet romance in this story, but I hesitate to call it a YA romance because though the romance thread is strong, a big portion of this book is about Auden’s journey (her relationship with others, her parents, and how she sees herself.) So this one has some meat to it but still gives you that summery ahh feeling of a beach read. I zoomed through this one even though it’s not a short book. This definitely won’t be the last Sarah Dessen book I read.

So that’s what I’ve got for you and now I must find something to get over my book hangover. I’m thinking maybe a historical romance because I realized when I looked through my book journal that I have read NO historicals in 2018. How is that even possible? I must fix this immediately.

What are you reading this weekend? Or, tell me what’s the last book that gave you a book hangover?