folklore but make it fantasy: Among the Beasts & Briars by Ashley Poston Blog Tour review + giveaway

 Hi, friends! I know it's been a little while, but *gestures to world* there's a lot going on out there, and sometimes it's hard to find the mental space to write and blog. I have struggled this year. But that's why I'm especially excited to participate in the blog tour for Among the Beasts & Briars. I preordered this book back in March because I knew I'd need it during this frustrating and difficult year, and this book DID NOT DISAPPOINT. Scroll down to read my 5 star review and some of my favorite quotes from the book. Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a finished copy!

Rating: 5 stars

Release Date: October 20, 2020

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Genre: young adult fantasy

Format/Source: ARC, from the publisher

Status: standalone?
Links: Geekerella review (also 5 stars)

Geekerella blog tour - guest post by Ash

The Princess & the Fangirl review (also 5 stars)

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book before voluntarily joining the blog tour, which does not affect the content of my review. The tour was organized & hosted by The Book Terminal, and the full tour schedule can be found HERE. Please go give my fellow tour hosts some love!

Summary:

Cerys is safe in the kingdom of Aloriya.

 

Here there are no droughts, disease, or famine, and peace is everlasting. It has been this way for hundreds of years, since the first king made a bargain with the Lady who ruled the forest that borders the kingdom. But as Aloriya prospered, the woods grew dark, cursed, and forbidden. Cerys knows this all too well: when she was young, she barely escaped as the woods killed her friends and her mother. Now Cerys carries a small bit of the curse—the magic—in her blood, a reminder of the day she lost everything. The most danger she faces now, as a gardener’s daughter, is the annoying fox who stalks the royal gardens and won’t leave her alone.

 

As a new queen is crowned, however, things long hidden in the woods descend on the kingdom itself. Cerys is forced on the run, her only companions the small fox from the garden, a strange and powerful bear, and the magic in her veins. It’s up to her to find the legendary Lady of the Wilds and beg for a way to save her home. But the road is darker and more dangerous than she knows, and as secrets from the past are uncovered amid the teeth and roots of the forest, it’s going to take everything she has just to survive.

Blog Tour: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Today I'm reviewing my first-ever Jennifer Lynn Barnes book, The Inheritance Games, which I really enjoyed. Be sure to scroll down to see all the tour stops and enter the tour-wide giveaway!

Rating: 4 stars

Release Date: September 1, 2020

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Genre: young adult thriller

Format/Source: DRC, from the publisher

Status: Book 1 of The Inheritance Games series

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour, which was organized & hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. The full tour schedule can be found below. Please go give my fellow tour hosts some love!

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of the blog tour. This does not affect the content of my review.

Summary:

A Cinderella story with deadly stakes and thrilling twists, perfect for fans of One of Us is Lying and Knives Out.

Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why--or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch--and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a con-woman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfathe's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.

Blog Tour + Giveaway: What I Like About You by Melissa Kanter

Today I'm talking about an adorable new YA debut: Marisa Kanter's What I Like About You! This sweet story is about a teen book blogger & bookstagrammer famous for her bookish cupcakes and the love "triangle" she finds herself in when she meets her online bestie IRL. It may be about cupcakes, but poor Halle is in quite a pickle! Keep scrolling to find out more about the book and enter to win a signed copy!

Release Date: April 7, 2020

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: young adult contemporary romance

Format/Source: ARC, from the publisher

Status: standalone

Summary:

Can a love triangle have only two people in it? Online, it can…but in the real world, it's more complicated. In this debut novel that’s perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Morgan Matson, Marisa Kanter hilariously and poignantly explores what happens when internet friends turn into IRL crushes.

Is it still a love triangle if there are only two people in it?

There are a million things that Halle Levitt likes about her online best friend, Nash.

He’s an incredibly talented graphic novelist. He loves books almost as much as she does. And she never has to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him in real life. They can talk about anything…

Except who she really is.

Because online, Halle isn’t Halle—she’s Kels, the enigmatically cool creator of One True Pastry, a YA book blog that pairs epic custom cupcakes with covers and reviews. Kels has everything Halle doesn’t: friends, a growing platform, tons of confidence, and Nash.

That is, until Halle arrives to spend senior year in Gramps’s small town and finds herself face-to-face with real, human, not-behind-a-screen Nash. Nash, who is somehow everywhere she goes—in her classes, at the bakery, even at synagogue.

Nash who has no idea she’s actually Kels.

If Halle tells him who she is, it will ruin the non-awkward magic of their digital friendship. Not telling him though, means it can never be anything more. Because while she starts to fall for Nash as Halle…he’s in love with Kels.

Purchase Links:

   

Tour Schedule:

Week 1

3/30: Novel Novice - Giveaway

3/31: Book Bratz - Review

4/1: The Novel Knight - Author Guest Post

4/2: Book Princess Reviews - Review

4/3: eleven thirteen pm - Author Q&A

Week 2

4/6: Vicky Again - Creative Post 

4/7: Pub Day (Marisa) - Creative Post

4/8: Kayla Reads and Reviews - Author Q&A

4/9: The Heart of a Book Blogger - Author Q&A

4/10: Mary Had a Little Book Blog - Giveaway

Week 3

4/13: Jen Ryland Reviews - Review

4/14: Love in Panels - Giveaway

4/15: Forever and Everly - Review

4/16: I'm All Booked Up - Review

4/17: Awkwordly Emma - Author Q&A

Week 4

4/20: Rants & Raves of a Bibliophile - Giveaway

4/21: Read By Tiffany - Author Q&A

4/22: A Court of Coffee and Books - Review

4/23: From the Library of Alexis - Review

4/24: Bookishly Jules - Giveaway

Week 5

4/27: Lost in a Book - Review

4/28: Pages and Pugs - Review

4/29: Skye's Scribblings - Review

4/30: Kait Plus Books - Giveaway

5/1: We Live and Breathe Books - Review

About the Author:

Marisa Kanter has worked in publicity for major publishers and covered YA books for MTV. Currently, she works in sales, on the distribution side of the publishing industry. She can often be found searching for the best iced chai in NYC, or reading on the 3 train. What I Like About You is her first novel. Follow her at marisakanter.com and on Twitter @marisakanter

Author Links:

   

Giveaway:

One winner will receive a signed copy of What I Like About You. Open to the US. Entrants must be 13+ with parents' permission. Giveaway is open until 12 AM CDT April 20. Please enter via Rafflecopter below; winner will be chosen at random, and odds are determined by number of entries. I reserve the right to disqualify any entries that are not in accordance with my giveaway policies as stated in the Review & Site Policies tab at the top of the page. Good luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review + Giveaway: Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff: The irreverent space romp

Rating: 5 stars

Release Date: 

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Genre: young adult sci-fi + ?????

Format/Source: 

Status: book 1 of the Aurora Cycle trilogy
Links: Illuminae review
Illuminae audio review
Illuminae merch
Gemina gif review
Obsidio review

Summary:

From the internationally bestselling authors of THE ILLUMINAE FILES comes an epic new science fiction adventure.

The year is 2380, and the graduating cadets of Aurora Academy are being assigned their first missions. Star pupil Tyler Jones is ready to recruit the squad of his dreams, but his own boneheaded heroism sees him stuck with the dregs nobody else in the Academy would touch…

A cocky diplomat with a black belt in sarcasm
A sociopath scientist with a fondness for shooting her bunkmates
A smart-ass techwiz with the galaxy’s biggest chip on his shoulder
An alien warrior with anger management issues
A tomboy pilot who’s totally not into him, in case you were wondering

And Ty’s squad isn’t even his biggest problem—that’d be Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley, the girl he’s just rescued from interdimensional space. Trapped in cryo-sleep for two centuries, Auri is a girl out of time and out of her depth. But she could be the catalyst that starts a war millions of years in the making, and Tyler’s squad of losers, discipline-cases and misfits might just be the last hope for the entire galaxy.


They're not the heroes we deserve. They're just the ones we could find. Nobody panic.

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. This does not affect the content of my review.

Cover Reveal: Sure Shot by Sarina Bowen

Once again I have the pleasure of sharing a new Sarina Bowen cover with you all today! Sure Shot is the next installment featuring a player on the Brooklyn Bruisers hockey team, and this time, sports agent Bess Beringer is our lovely heroine. Longtime Sarina readers will recognize Bess as the sister of Bruisers player Dave (from the True North/Brooklyn crossover novel Bountiful) and as the wise woman who helped Eric figure out his life post-playing career in Moonlighter. I've been so excited to know more about Auntie Bess since I read Bountiful so I'm THRILLED it's finally time for her story!

Photo by Wander Aguiar, Design by Hang Le

Release Date: May 12, 2020

Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC

Genre: adult romantic suspense

Status: standalone /
Book 4 of the Brooklyn companion series

Links: Moonlighter review

True North series review

Summary:

A new stand-alone hockey romance from USA Today bestseller Sarina Bowen.

On the eve of her thirtieth birthday, sports agent Bess Beringer is ready to make some changes. Armed with a five-year plan—indexed and color coded—she’ll tackle her personal life with the same zeal that she brings to her successful agency.

A big, tall, ripped hunk of hockey player who’s just been traded to the Brooklyn Bruisers is not a part of that plan. Mark “Tank” Tankiewicz has a lot of baggage. He’s a ride-or-die loner with a bad reputation. He’s on the rebound. He’s also the sexiest thing on two legs, and for some crazy reason it’s Bess that he wants.

She knows better. But then she falls stupid in love with him anyway. And for a while it seems like maybe he’ll do the same.

Until she asks him for the one thing he can never give her…  

Purchase Links:

  
Audio coming soon! 

Giveaway:

Interested in Sure Shot? Check out this Goodreads giveaway for 3 signed copies!

About the Author:

Sarina Bowen is the RITA® Award winning author of over thirty contemporary novels. She most recently hit the USA Today bestseller's list last week with Top Secret (co-written by Elle Kennedy) and in January, with Overnight Sensation. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina holds a BA in economics from Yale University.

Sarina Bowen is a New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country since the 1760s. Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. On a few wooded acres, she lives with her husband, two boys, and an ungodly amount of ski and hockey gear.

Sarina's books are published in a dozen languages on four continents. In 2016, The Romance Writers of America honored Him by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy with a RITA award for Best Contemporary Romance, Mid-Length.

Author Links:

    

Book Blitz: What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume

What I Like About Me is one of my most anticipated reads of 2020! I've been a fan of Jenna Guillaume's work for a long time so when I heard she was publishing a fat positive YA book, I wanted it INSTANTLY. The book released last year in Australia, and it has finally made its way to the US! So check it out and be sure to scroll down to the giveaway at the end!

Author: Jenna Guillaume
Release Date: April 1, 2020 (US pub date)
Publisher: Peachtree Publishing
Genre: young adult contemporary
Status: standalone

Summary:

You know all those movies where teenagers have, like, THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES? This vacation is probably not going to be that.

The last thing sixteen-year-old Maisie Martin thought she’d be doing over vacation is entering a beauty pageant. Not when she’s spent most of her life hiding her body from everyone. Not when her Dad is AWOL and her gorgeous older sister has returned to rock Maisie’s already shaky confidence. And especially not when her best friend starts flirting with the boy she’s always loved. But Maisie’s got something to prove.

As she writes down all the ways this vacation is going from bad to worse in her school-assignment journal, what starts as a homework torture-device might just end up being an account of how Maisie didn’t let anything, or anyone, hold her back.

Jenna Guillame’s American debut features a plus-size protagonist with a compelling, funny, and authentic narrative voice. This relatable and charming novel about friendship, confidence, and self-love will draw readers in as Maisie’s realistic emotional journey unveils the importance of embracing one’s body and celebrating one’s self.

Praise for What I Like About Me:

“Debut author Guillaume's novel features funny dialogue and fresh takes on body image and personal relationships as well as a plucky heroine who slowly but surely comes into her own…. Perfect for fans of Dumplin’, a hilariously sweet yet complex romance.” ―Kirkus Reviews

“Guillaume’s delightful debut deals with teenagers and their self-esteem, as Maisie’s story is relayed through her journal entries. This intimate lens will invest readers in Maisie’s journey to self-acceptance and confidence. A fun story, abounding in humor, romance, and inspiration and filled with multifaceted characters that readers will enjoy.” ―Booklist

“This book draws obvious parallels to Julie Murphy’s Dumplin’, but Maisie and her diverse cast of friends are fresh and distinctive, as is the Australian setting…. A fun, upbeat, and tender coming-of-age story written in an engaging and lively diary format.” ―School Library Journal

Available from:

   

About the Author:

Jenna Guillaume was editor-at-large for BuzzFeed Australia, where she wrote about very important things like pop culture, identity, feminism, social media, and Chris Hemsworth's biceps. Previously, she spent more than half a decade in the features department of Girlfriend magazine, editing the sealed section (yes, all those questions are real), and writing about everything from bullying and body image to bad kisses and boy bands. She was also a contributor to Girlfriend Life Hacks, an essential guide to navigating a girl's completely-awkward-but-totally-awesome teen years. 

Author Links:

    

Giveaway:

5 Winners will receive a copy of What I Like About Me and a book branded pocket mirror. Open internationally. Ends April 20. Must be 13+ to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Many thanks to Jean of Jean Book Nerd for giving me the opportunity to be part of this Nerd Blast.

Blog Tour: When She Reigns by Jodi Meadows

Today I'm celebrating the upcoming release of When She Reigns, the final book in Jodi Meadows's Fallen Isles trilogy. Scroll down to find out what goodies you can get when you preorder (you still have 5 days!), check out my painted pages tutorial, AND enter the tour giveaway!

Release Date: September 10, 2019

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Genre: young adult fantasy

Status: Book 3 of the Fallen Isles trilogy

Links: Before She Ignites blog tour

As She Ascends blog tour

Summary:

The First Dragon

The Great Abandonment has begun. Panic has seized the Fallen Isles, where no one knows which god will rise next. Mira Minkoba believes her dreams hold the secret to bringing an end to the destruction, but in order to save her people, she’ll have to find a legendary treasure: the bones of the first dragon.

The Last Hope

Mira’s desperate search leads the Hopebearer and her friends on a dangerous journey into the heart of enemy territory: the Algotti Empire itself. The empress is more than willing to help—for an impossible price. And as tensions escalate beneath the shadows of the risen gods, Mira grapples with a terrifying question: What will she have to sacrifice to preserve what she loves?

The explosive finale to Jodi Meadows’s Fallen Isles trilogy is ablaze with sizzling romance and fiery magic as Mira’s fight to save dragons from extinction evolves into a mission to save her world from annihilation.

Cover Reveal: Superfan by Sarina Bowen

Today I'm really excited to show off a new cover in a favorite series by a favorite authors. Sarina Bowen has become one of my all-time favorite authors and a must-buy. I binge several of her series each year because they are HIGHLY marathon-able and addictive. And the best thing is that her series are companions so they can be read & enjoyed as standalones OR you can read them in publishing order for a larger look at all the characters in each series universe. Everyone gets an HEA, but you still get to see them in future books AND she's still publishing in some of her best series like her Brooklyn books. And THAT'S the series I'm talking about today. 

Technically only Rookie Move, Hard Hitter, and Pipe Dreams are officially part of the Brooklyn Bruisers series (because Publishing Legalese), but all these books are interconnected. Trust me: if you love one book featuring a Bruiser, you'll love them all! Check out more on Sarina's website or scroll down for more info about these hockey hotties, plus an excerpt and a giveaway for an early copy of Superfan.

And now: Feast your eyes on Silas, the super sweet backup goalie longtime readers have loved since book 1!

Release Date: June 25, 2019

Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC

Genre: adult contemporary romance
sports romance (hockey)

Status: standalone /
Book 3 in the Brooklyn companion series

Summary:

Sometimes lady luck shakes your hand, and sometimes she smacks your face. Sometimes she does both on the same day.

Three years ago I met the most amazing girl in the world. We were both down on our luck. Then I got that call—the one that tells you to get your buns on a plane to go meet your destiny.

But the girl was left behind. I didn’t have her phone number, and she didn’t know my real name.

While I became a professional hockey player, she became a superstar, with platinum records and legions of fans. And a slick, music producer boyfriend who treated her badly.

But fate wasn’t done with us yet. When Delilah turns up at a hockey game, I can’t resist making contact. The internet swoons when I ask her out on a date.

She might not remember me. But her jerkface ex does. He’ll do anything to keep us apart.


Good thing athletes never give up. This time I’m playing for keeps.

Purchase Links:

 
iBooks
Kobo 

ARC Giveaway:

Be the first to read Superfan! Three winners (US or Canada) will win early signed paperback copies of Superfan! Enter on Goodreads.

Excerpt:

“Would you like a beer?” the cute bartender asks me.

I glance at the pile of mint leaves on his cutting board and hesitate. “Sure,” I say. But the mint looks so fresh and pretty.

“I could make you something different.”

“Beer is great. A cold…”

“—lager,” he finishes. “No glass, no opener.”

When I look up to flash him a smile, my heart does a little somersault. Those kind eyes are smiling at me, too. “Thank you,” I whisper.

“It’s really no problem.” He turns toward the beer cooler. “You’re an easy customer, trust me.”

But I really meant—thank you for remembering. As he leans down to grab a bottle for me, I find myself admiring the strong muscles in his back. Stop it, I admonish myself. It only gets worse when he turns around and places the bottle in front of me. I’ve never seen hands like his. I didn’t even know wrists could look muscular.

Even so. Ogling him is not why I came here. I pull out my keychain opener and remove the cap from my beer.

He discards it, gives me another pleasant smile and then picks up his paring knife again.

I take a sip, wondering when he’s going to mention my show at the Coconut Club. He was there. I saw him.

He separates some mint leaves from their stems and says nothing.

I last about seventeen seconds. “Well?”

“Well?” He looks up. “Sorry?”

“Jesus lord.” I close my eyes and then open them again. This is not going how I’d hoped it would. “What did you think?”

“Of…?” His amazing eyes are studying me.

“Forget I asked.” I take a swig of beer.

“Think about what?” He pushes the cutting board aside, and his smile turns knowing.

“My set at the Coconut Club! I saw you holding up that wall in the back. Don’t lie.”

He tips his head back and lets out a sudden laugh. “I’m so busted. I loved your show, but I didn’t expect you to spot me.”

“You loved it so much you weren’t going to say anything?” The sentence sounds crazy to my own ears. I put down the beer. “You know what? Never mind. I’m just being psycho right now. This town is getting into my head.”

“Listen, girly.” He braces both (muscular!) hands on the bar and looks me right in the eye. “I loved it so much that I don’t even know what to say about it. From that moment at the beginning—when you shut that asshole’s maw? To the part where you made a lady cry.” He shakes his head. “I couldn’t look away. And I never wanted it to end.”

I give him a slow blink, just trying to take that in. It’s so much more than I was even hoping to hear.

“Shit, Delilah. If that set doesn’t win you whatever contract you’re looking for, they don’t even deserve you.”

Something warm and unfamiliar settles into the center of my belly. “That might be the nicest thing anyone ever said to me. Which only means you’re still trying to get my phone number.”

He laughs immediately. “Can’t both things be true? Both my musical assessment and my interest in your evening plans?”

“Because you know so much about music.” I flip my hair and take another sip of beer.

“Look. I don’t know shit about music. But I know plenty about talent.” He leans down on a set of forearms I shouldn’t be noticing. “I know that talent sometimes takes a nap at just the wrong moment, but it never stays asleep for long. I also know that luck matters, too. If they don’t give you what you want, it won’t be your fucking fault.”

“Thank you,” I say quietly.

But he’s not done. “I saw something else valuable the other night. You’re good in the clinch. And that counts for double, I swear to God.”

“The clinch?”

“Yeah. You’re not just good at practice.” He pauses, wrinkling up his interesting nose. “What word would a musician use? Okay—you’re not a rehearsal musician. That stage was like your home. Either that or you fake it really well. That’s going to pay your rent someday, I promise.”

“Wow.” It’s like he looked right into my terrified little soul and found the very thing I needed to hear. Those beautiful eyes of his are practically burning me right now, so I have to look away. “Thank you. Really. I really needed that pep talk.”

I make the mistake of looking up at him again, and, for a split second, I see pure yearning. It’s like our souls vibrate at exactly the same frequency. And I have no idea what to do with that.

The Brooklyn Bruisers

Release Date: September 6, 2016

Publisher: Berkley

Genre: adult contemporary romance

Status: book 1 of the Brooklyn Bruisers series

Summary: The first novel in a sexy new series featuring the hockey players of the Brooklyn Bruisers and the women who win their hearts—from the USA Today bestselling author of the Ivy Years series.

In high school they were the perfect couple—until the day Georgia left Leo in the cold... 

Hockey player Leo Trevi has spent the last six years trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, and succeed in the NHL. But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.

Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast....

Purchase Links:

  

Release Date: January 3, 2017

Publisher: Berkley

Genre: adult contemporary romance

Status: book 2 of the Brooklyn Bruisers series

Summary: He’s a fighter in the rink, but he’s about to learn that playing nice can help you score... 

As team captain and enforcer, Patrick O'Doul puts the bruise in the Brooklyn Bruisers. But after years of hard hits, O'Doul is feeling the burn, both physically and mentally. He conceals his pain from his coach and trainers, but when his chronic hip injury becomes too obvious to ignore, they send him for sessions with the team’s massage therapist.

After breaking up with her long-term boyfriend, Ari Bettini is in need of peace of mind. For now, she’s decided to focus on her work: rehabilitating the Bruisers’ MVP. O'Doul is easy on the eyes, but his reaction to her touch is ice cold. Ari is determined to help O'Doul heal, but as the tension between them turns red hot, they both learn that a little TLC does the body good...

Purchase Links:

  

Release Date: May 2, 2017

Publisher: Berkley

Genre: adult contemporary romance

Status: book 3 of the Brooklyn Bruisers series

Summary: A goalie has to trust his instincts, even when taking a shot to the heart…

Mike Beacon is a champion at defending the net, but off the ice, he’s not so lucky. A widower and a single father, he’s never forgotten Lauren Williams, the ex who gave him the best year of his life. When Lauren reappears in the Bruisers office during the playoffs, Beacon sees his chance to make things right.

Lauren hates that she’s forced to travel with the team she used to work for and the man who broke her heart. There’s still undeniable sexual tension running between her and Mike, but she won’t go down that road again. She’s focused on her plans for the future—she doesn’t need a man to make her dreams of motherhood come true.

Lauren plays her best defensive game, but she’s no match for the dark-eyed goalie. When the field of play moves to Florida, things heat up on the beach.

One of Mike’s biggest fans doesn’t approve—his teenage daughter. But a true competitor knows not to waste the perfect shot at love.

Purchase Links:

  

Brooklyn Crossover

Release Date: October 27, 2017

Publisher: Rennie Road Books

Genre: adult contemporary romance

Status: standalone / book 0.5 of the Brooklyn series (crossover with Sarina's True North series)

Summary: No last names. No life stories. Those were the rules.

Once upon a time a cocky, copper-haired tourist sauntered into Zara’s bar. And even though she knew better, Zara indulged in a cure for the small-town blues. It was supposed to be an uncomplicated fling—a few sizzling weeks before he went back to his life, and she moved on. 

Until an accidental pregnancy changed her life. 

Two years later, she’s made peace with the notion that Dave From Brooklyn will never be found. Until one summer day when he walks into her coffee shop, leveling her with the same hot smile that always renders her defenseless.

Hockey star Dave Beringer has never forgotten the intense month he spent with prickly Zara. Their nights together were the first true intimacy he’d ever experienced. But the discovery of his child is the shock of a lifetime, and his ugly past puts relationships and family out of reach.

Or does it? Vermont’s countryside has a way of nurturing even tortured souls. The fields and the orchards—and hard won love—are Bountiful.

Purchase Links:

  

The Brooklyn series

Release Date: February 12, 2018

Publisher: Rennie Road Books

Genre: adult contemporary romance

Status: standalone / book 1 of the Brooklyn series

Summary: A sexy new standalone from USA Today bestseller Sarina Bowen.

You’d think a billion dollars, a professional hockey team and a six-bedroom mansion on the Promenade would satisfy a guy. You’d be wrong.

For seven years Rebecca has brightened my office with her wit and her smile. She manages both my hockey team and my sanity. I don’t know when I started waking in the night, craving her. All I know is that one whiff of her perfume ruins my concentration. And her laugh makes me hard.

When Rebecca gets hurt, I step in to help. It’s what friends do. But what friends don’t do is rip off each others’ clothes for a single, wild night together.

Now she’s avoiding me. She says we’re too different, and it can never happen again. So why can’t we keep our hands off each other?

Purchase Links:

  

Release Date: January 19, 2019

Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC

Genre: adult contemporary romance

Status: standalone / book 2 of the Brooklyn series

Summary: Everyone knows the girl is off limits. But it's so good to be bad.


There's this girl...

Heidi and I have been trading hungry looks all year, and everything she does makes me smile. But I don't do girlfriends, and I certainly can't get involved with the league commissioner's daughter. I need shots on goal, not a hookup and a widely misunderstood paparazzi photo. Can I resist her, though? The way she teases me should be a game penalty for interference with my libido. 


There's this guy...

Jason wants me, but he won't admit it. That man looks at me the way a hockey player eyes the lunch buffet after practice--and I love it. But when victory is finally within my grasp, I blow it and humiliate myself. Even then I can't even avoid him--as the team intern, I'm in constant view of his hard body and cocky smile. I need another chance. Jason Castro is about to learn the true meaning of an overnight sensation.

Purchase Links:

  

About the Author:

Sarina Bowen is the RITA® Award winning author of over thirty contemporary novels. She most recently hit the USA Today bestseller's list last week with Top Secret (co-written by Elle Kennedy) and in January, with Overnight Sensation. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina holds a BA in economics from Yale University.

Sarina Bowen is a New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country since the 1760s. Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. On a few wooded acres, she lives with her husband, two boys, and an ungodly amount of ski and hockey gear.

Sarina's books are published in a dozen languages on four continents. In 2016, The Romance Writers of America honored Him by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy with a RITA award for Best Contemporary Romance, Mid-Length.

Author Links: