Bittersweet by Carmen Jenner and Lauren K. McKellar

Blurb:

From two USA Today bestselling authors comes a tale of miscommunication and muffins.

Romy Love knows weddings. As the author of a hugely successful wedding blog, you’d think she’d have love covered. It is her last name, after all.
When it comes to her big day, Romy has the flowers picked out, a dress collecting dust in the back of her closet, and a preacher on standby. There’s just one problem: the groom doesn’t know it yet.

Romy has eyes for the Italian coffee god and single dad who owns the bakery in her building—she also has plans for his delicious buns—but in order to get her happily-ever-after, she has a few things to check off her list first:

Lose twenty pounds

Take over the blogging world one wedding at a time

Make Coffee Hottie fall in love with me
Yeah, this shouldn’t be difficult at all.

Find on Goodreads

Purchase Links:

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2HeJbuW

Amazon PB: https://amzn.to/2LS6fDa

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2syLXGJ

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2xJiaQW

Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/2sszVP4

Kristine's Review:
Reviewed: May 2018.

Romy Love runs a successful wedding blog, she should live and breathe all things love and weddings, but after a messy break up she's feeling anything but romantic, a little bit jaded would be far closer to the truth. All that's left of her own wedding plans is a dress that she might never get to wear. Romy spends her days dividing her time between working from home and the café below her apartment working on blog posts for brides planning their special day, while quietly crushing on the sexy owner Elio. 

Everything about Elio draws Romy in, and leaves her wanting more. For lovers of slow burn romance Bittersweet hits all the right notes, as each day passes and Romy and Elio spend more time around each other, their relationship grows into something more than just customer and business owner. The trading of sweet smiles and often awkward conversations only serves to allow their budding relationship to flourish.

As Romy and Elio learn more about each other, they still keep parts of themselves hidden in an effort to protect their hearts. Despite everything going for them, their sizzingly chemistry that delicious temptation proves too much. When miscommunication rears it's ugly head, their fears of getting hurt only lead to heartbreak. Every thing about Bittersweet was all consuming, utterly enticing and so very addictive. For every book I've loved and blogged about of late, there's been others that I've failed to connect with, from the very first page of Bittersweet I felt that zing, that exhilarating rush that left me breathless and desperate for more. There's something all consuming about combining two of your favourite authors, the absolute joy that comes from relishing their words and their ability to craft a story that played out in my mind like my very favourite romantic comedy film. 

"Because as much as I love the idea of indulging in Elio, I know a guy as delicious as him would never go for a woman like me."

The thing I adored most about Bittersweet was the way I was able to connect with Romy, I felt her insecurities, I knew with a clarity that only comes with a life well lived that sometimes you need to confront those past hurts, face those fears of heartbreak and pain to find something worth risking your heart for. With a one two punch that is Lauren K. McKellar and Carmen Jenner writing together, Bittersweet is exactly what I needed to pull me out of my self imposed reading funk. Bittersweet was a sassy, fun, and heart warming read that left me wanting more while still getting the ending I needed like every great book should. 

About Carmen Jenner:

Carmen Jenner is a thirty-something, USA Today and international bestselling author.

A tattoo enthusiast, hardcore makeup addict, cake fanatic, and zombie fangirl, Carmen lives in sunny Australia, where she spends her time indoors wrangling her two wildling children, a dog named Pikelet, and her very own man-child.

A romantic at heart, Carmen strives to give her characters the HEA they deserve, but not before ruining their lives completely first … because what’s a happily ever after without a little torture?

Connect with Carmen on Facebook

About Lauren K. McKellar:

Lauren K. McKellar is a writer of contemporary romance reads that make you feel. This hybrid-published USA Today best-selling author loves writing books with stunning local settings, heart-throb heroes, and leading ladies who overcome great hardships in their lives.
In addition to writing, Lauren loves to read, and you can often find her up at all hours of the night with a glass of wine, some chocolate, and a good book. She lives by the beach in New South Wales, Australia, with her husband, infant son, and their two dogs. Most of the time, all four of them are well behaved.

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Worth The Wait by K. Bromberg

Blurb:

From New York Times bestselling author K. Bromberg comes a new, sexy standalone about taking chances and finding love when it’s least expected. Or wanted.

This whole contest was supposed to be easy. I know, I know. Famous last words.

It’s a long story, but I messed up at work. Big time. To earn back the trust of my boss, I promised to save one of our magazines. Yep. That Hot Dad contest you’ve seen advertised all over the place was my idea. And if I’m successful, if I’m able to increase our online readership, then I get a shot at my dream job.

But the one thing I never expected to happen, happened: Contestant number ten, Grayson Malone. Hello, Mr. Difficult. And did I mention sexy as hell?

Unfortunately he knows me. The old me, anyway. And while we might be older now, I remind him of before. Of the woman who broke his heart, who hardened him, and who left him alone to raise the cutest little boy I’ve ever seen.

But I don’t want a relationship. And I definitely don’t fall for single dads with baggage. Even ones with chiseled abs and killer smiles.

But he got to me. They got to me. Him and his son and their messy, crazy life. But I got to him too. I see the stolen glances. I feel the walls he built start to crumble. I recognize that there’s an unexpected beauty to the chaos in his life.

And now that the contest is about to end, we’re left to decide whether the last six months were just fun or if what we have is worth risking it all?

Find on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2wIhWss

Purchase Links:

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2rJg0u0

Amazon PB: https://amzn.to/2Il2sjF

Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/2KZLSDL

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/2L6WSPI
iBooks: https://smarturl.it/WTRiBooks
B&N: https://smarturl.it/WTRBN
Kobo: http://smarturl.it/WTRKobo

Kristine's Review:

Reviewed: May 2018.

I'm still a little unsure as to where to start this, it's been days and I'm still no closer to putting into words how much I truly enjoyed Worth The Risk. I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting, the usual angst that I can count on in a Bromberg novel, yeah sure but the dreamy cover, the somewhat sombre brother we'd caught glimpses of in the previous books in the Malone brothers series, the allure of a strong and sassy heroine that was owning her sh*t even in the blurb and there wasn't a chance I'd look past this book.

“You did this,”
“Did what?” Her eyes narrow. Her hand goes to press against her chest.
“Made me want you.”

Grayson Malone is an enigma in so many ways, the smouldering single dad to a young son, the dedicated 'copter pilot, the steady and stable son in a family of boys. Outwardly, Grayson seems to have life figured out, his life is neatly defined by the roles he plays. Father. Son. Pilot. Brother. Uncle. He's known in his community in the way only someone who's grown up in a small town can be. Everyone thinking they know Grayson, while it's merely carefully constructed half truths, hearsay and unsubstantiated rumour. Regardless of what people choose to believe or say about him, Grayson has only two plans, go to work everyday and be the best father he can be.

Sidney Thornton has long lived with the crushing weight of expectation from her father. She left her small town life years ago and never looked back. Always destined for bigger things then her hometown could provide she left after graduation and didn't look back. The thrill of city life isn't always what you expect, and the shine starts to fade. Mistakes were made and consequences have her heading back home.

"I love you, damn it, and I don't have a f*cking clue what to do about it other than to ask you to choose me. To tell me I'm worth the risk."

Bromberg writes angst with the best, her ability to weave together a world you want to lose yourself in second to none. Worth The Risk is the very epitome of a cat and mouse tale come to life, Grayson and Sidney circle each other while their chemistry simmered just beneath the surface. It's that za za zing you want in Romance, that snap, crackle and pop that draws you in and holds you captive and demands you pay attention. The more desperately Sidney and Grayson fought against the pull they felt, the more enamoured I was by Bromberg's words. The more these two enigmatic characters gave into temptation the move I craved those stolen moments and sizzling touches. It's in those moments when the desperation of the characters bleeds through the pages, when the words hit you full force that their pain, their elation, their fear, their joy becomes yours, that you can recognise what you're reading for what it is... a story you'll never forget. This book absolutely stole my heart, unequivocally one of Bromberg's strongest works, Worth The Risk hit all the right notes making it utterly impossible to put down. 

About K. Bromberg:

New York Times Bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary novels that contain a mixture of sweet, emotional, a whole lot of sexy, and a little bit of real. She likes to write strong heroines, and damaged heroes who we love to hate but can’t help to love.

A mom of three, she plots her novels in between school runs and soccer practices, more often than not with her laptop in tow.

Since publishing her first book on a whim in 2013, Kristy has sold over one and a half million copies of her books across sixteen different countries and has landed on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestsellers lists over thirty times. Her Driven trilogy (Driven, Fueled, and Crashed) is currently being adapted for film by Passionflix with the first movie slated to release in 2018.

With her imagination always in overdrive, she is currently scheming, plotting, and swooning over her latest hero.

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