The hockey star, the influencer, and the deal of a
lifetime.
Ty I’m going to the pros, baby! Deal made, contract
signed. Now all I have to do is finish out my final season at Smithton and stay out of trouble. I like to have a
good time, but don’t worry, I’ll behave.
What I won’t do is talk to that double-crossing influencer who’s been
badgering me for an interview. No thanks.
I know Walker’s type—sweet as pie on the outside, a shark on the inside.
Get this…he wants to make a deal that sounds a lot like a bribe.
Not interested. No way.
But I am curious.
Walker I’ve never worked so hard for an interview in
my life. Ugh!
Look, I get that Ty doesn’t like me. As in…he won’t return my calls and avoids
me like the plague on campus.
Too bad. I’m not giving up.
I don’t want to beg, but I’m willing to barter. Every man has his price—and
something to prove.
Even Ty.
Something to Proveis a low-angst, geek-jock MM bisexual
college hockey romance featuring a hockey star and the adorkable influencer who’s determined to win him
over…
Lane Hayes lives in sunny Southern California with her amazing husband,
who thankfully doesn’t mind cooking, and their fabulous fox red Labrador, George, who’s pure mischief. Both
provide oodles of inspiration for the low-angst, humorous books Lane loves to write. She’s been telling
stories about sexy, funny, sometimes geeky and quirky men who find love for a dozen years now and loving
every minute. In her previous life, she sat at a desk and dealt with numbers, so yes…romance is much more
satisfying! Lane loves tea, travel, and chocolate…in any order. Add a book and she’s set!
Desperate to escape the pain of his brother’s
death, Jesse Melnik ran—but he couldn’t outrun the grief, no matter how much
distance he put between himself and his past. Now, after fifteen years of
trying, he’s finally ready to face his hometown of Charlottetown
again.
He expects the memories of his brother to hover in
every corner of his family’s sailboat and whisper in every sea-tinged
breeze.
What he doesn’t expect is Parker Willis, the best
friend he left behind without a word the day he fled.
And he certainly doesn’t expect old feelings to
resurface.
Parker’s been stuck in a rut since his father died
three months ago. Every day is the same: try to keep his father’s dinner cruise
business afloat so he can chip away at Dad’s debts, all while working a job
that leaves him more frustrated than satisfied.
Then Parker’s routine shatters in the best way
possible: Jesse Melnik returns to Prince Edward Island for the summer, all six
feet three inches of gorgeous hockey player.
Now, that’s different.
Jesse kickstarts Parker’s heart.
Parker makes
Jesse feel again.
And although both men are a little bit damaged from
struggling down the broken path of loss, maybe—just maybe—if they can lean on
each other, they’ll learn to move forward at last.
Content warnings:
themes of grief, discussions of a parent's death from
cancer, discussions/descriptions of a sibling's death from
suicide
Excerpt
Jesse glanced over and nearly swallowed his
tongue.
How dare running
shorts be so goddamn tiny and cling so goddamn nicely to long, shapely legs dusted
with hair the same shade as the finest dark chocolate? Jesse was still reeling
at being in the same place at the same time as Parker for the first time in
years—had, in fact, tossed and turned all night thinking about Parker—and now
he showed up out of nowhere again and
sent Jesse’s libido into a jumble of desire and yearning?
There were things that Jesse had left in his past,
and his attraction to his best friend was supposed to be one of them.
Former best friend? Best friend he’d recently
gotten reacquainted with? Former best friend who could be his new best
friend?
Fuck. Relationships were hard.
Along with the shorts, Parker also wore a
long-sleeved running shirt in teal and a baseball hat with Montreal hockey’s
logo on the front. His dark hair curled out from underneath the sides of the
hat, and the two-day stubble on his jaw was way sexier than Jesse wanted to
admit. He was a couple of inches shorter than Jesse’s six foot three, but
whereas Jesse was—admittedly—very big, even for a defenceman, Parker was lanky
and toned, the muscle definition obvious in his running gear in a way it hadn’t
been in the jeans and Willis Dinner Cruises-branded long-sleeved T-shirt he’d
been wearing last night when he’d appeared like a figment of Jesse’s childhood
wishes and sat next to him on the bench at the marina.
Whatever he wore, Parker looked like he’d fit into
all of Jesse’s empty spaces.
Shaking his head to rid himself of that thought, he
shoved his phone back in his pocket and scowled. “I’ll get you a new
hat.”
Parker’s lips quirked. “I like this hat.”
“Since when are you a Montreal fan?”
“Hey, don’t knock them. They made it to the
playoffs.”
The unlike
you was left unsaid, but Jesse heard it loud and clear and
refused to be amused.
“So.” Parker’s shoulder bumped up against his.
“What are you doing?”
“What
are you doing?”
“This is my jogging route.”
“That so?” Jesse would have to remember to be by
his window in the mornings so he could watch Parker run by in his short
shorts.
“Mm-hmm. Is
it your jogging route?”
“No.”
“What are you doing here then?”
Glancing back at the house, Jesse let out a long
breath. “Deciding what to tackle first. What colour would you paint that
door?”
Parker blinked once and frowned. “Why would you
paint it any colour?”
“Because that rusty red makes me think of dead
bodies on a crime show?”
“No, I mean . . .” That
unique greyish-greenish gaze of Parker’s swung from Jesse to the house and
back. “Do you know the people who live here? Are you doing work for them this
summer or something?”
“I live here,” Jesse
said. “And I don’t want to live with that gross colour for the next two
months.”
“You . . . bought a
house?”
Jesse grunted.
“But you live in Vancouver,” Parker said slowly, as
though reminding Jesse of this fact.
“No, I know,
but . . .”
But what? He’d wanted a project for the summer?
Something that would keep him occupied so he didn’t have to think about where
he was and why he was back for the first time in fifteen years? A fixer-upper
was as good a distraction as anything.
His therapist wouldn’t love that he was keeping
busy instead of sitting with and analyzing his feelings. But she didn’t have to
know. Right?
When Jesse didn’t continue, Parker said, “Are you
retiring from hockey and moving back here?”
“Fuck no,” Jesse blurted.
About the
Author
Amy’s lived with her head in the
clouds since she first picked up a book as a child, and being fluent in two
languages means she’s read a lot of books! She first picked up a pen on a rainy
day in fourth grade when her class had to stay inside for recess. Tales of
treasure hunts with her classmates eventually morphed into love stories between
men, and she’s been writing ever since. She writes evenings and weekends—or whenever
she isn’t at her full-time day job saving the planet at Canada’s largest
environmental non-profit.
An unapologetic introvert, Amy reads
too much and socializes too little, with no regrets. She loves connecting with
readers. Join her Facebook Group to stay up-to-date on upcoming releases and
for access to early teasers, find her on Instagram, or sign up for her
infrequent newsletter.
Available on: Amazon, Kindle Unlimited, paperback, and audio narrated by Darcy Stark (est September)
Preorder: https://readerlinks.com/l/4898260
Tropes: second chance, age gap, he fell first/he fell harder, son’s captain, player x ex-player, pining, groveling
Blurb:
Tampa Sentinels Captain Hayes Montgomery has hero-worshipped Morgan Reynolds his entire career, watching as the larger-than-life hockey star has racked up stats that always seemed unreal. Unattainable. Unreachable.
Until Hayes himself is labeled “the next one” and to his surprise, he and Morgan end up on the same team together, playing for Team USA in a nation versus nation tournament.
Now Hayes’ hero isn’t just his teammate, but his linemate. They’re hot on the ice, and despite Morgan’s straight reputation, off it too.
It’s only ten days, but it’s the best ten days of his life. That shouldn’t be long enough for a hockey crush to morph into a real crush, but Hayes falls head over heels, launch-himself-off-a-cliff, wildly in love with Morgan, anyway.
They don’t play on the same team or even on the same coast. Normally, they’re never in the same zip code, but that doesn’t change Hayes’ feelings—or his regret when the fling ends.
Fast forward six years. Morgan’s retired, Hayes is writing his own name in the record books, and he’s sure he’s over it. Over him.
But then Morgan arrives in Tampa to watch his rookie son play for the Sentinels.
He doesn’t want to be hung up on his teammate’s dad, but it doesn’t matter how long it’s been or what he’s tried. Morgan still makes Hayes’ knees weak.
And when it turns out Morgan has his own Hayes’ shaped regret?
Maybe they can finally find their way back to each other again.
RELEASE TOUR - To Defend
A Damaged Duke by Fearne Hill
Length:
75,000 words Series: Regency
Rossingley, book 2 Prior Reading: not
required Genre: Historical
Romance (Regency) Tropes: second
chances, a wealthy duke, a gambling hell owner, wrong side of the tracks,
forbidden love, revenge, hurt-comfort , Regency England, horse
racing Trigger/Content Warnings:
n/a Publisher: NineStar Press
Benedict Fitzsimmons, the reclusive
fourteenth Duke of Ashington, nurses a secret desire for his own sex he’d much
prefer nobody ever found out about. Indeed, having only ever given in to his
urges as a youth—and with disastrous consequences—he never imagined they would.
Preferring the company of his racehorses to people, Benedict spends most of his
time working on estate matters, longing for a lost love he can never
have.
When an anonymous letter threatening
to expose Benedict lands in his lap, he’s shocked to the core. He doesn’t have
any enemies; why would anyone want to destroy him? Terrified, and with his
family’s impeccable reputation at stake, Benedict joins forces with loyal
friend, the Earl of Rossingley, to track down the culprit.
Risen from poverty and with a sordid
past he’d rather forget, Tommy Squire has a mind dedicated to growing his
business ventures and a heart shaped from stone. When the man who once broke it
in a life-changing betrayal requests Tommy’s help to avoid a scandal, he finds
himself embroiled in a daring scheme to bring down a blackmailer. As their plot
unfolds, Tommy realises it’s more than his former lover he’s endeavouring to
protect, it’s his battered heart.
“IT’S HIGH TIME you
married.” Benedict Fitzsimmons, the fourteenth Duke of Ashington,
regarded his ebullient youngest brother—by five years—over the edge of
The Times. “Should this betrothal occur before I reach the
end of this astute prediction for Saturday’s race at Epsom? Am I permitted to
digest my poached kippers first?”
“Oh, all right. I suppose you may.”
Francis grinned. “But eat up and eat well. I have a dreadful suspicion marriage
to a lady of breeding will require courage and fortitude.”
“So do I,” Benedict agreed drily,
adding his lack of both those attributes to his ever-expanding list of reasons
never to marry. One of which he kept private, being more pertinent than the
rest. He turned a page. “If you don’t mind, I’ll stick to my four-legged
thoroughbreds. At the very least, they will never expect me to endure a week in
the country with their parents.”
“It’s not me that wants you wed,”
said Francis. “It’s Isabella. She has this crazy notion that if you marry, her
father will look more favourably on allowing her to be betrothed to
me.”
Benedict frowned. “I don’t
follow.”
Lady Isabella Knightley and her
swooping, dizzy mind were two handfuls of trouble by anyone’s standards.
Frankly, if Benedict were her father, he’d have offloaded her onto the nearest
suit- able bachelor—such as Francis, the youngest brother of a wealthy duke—as
soon as she came of age. Why her father, the Right Honourable Earl Ludham,
insisted her older sisters were suitably wed first, holding off until an earl
like himself or higher-ranking noble offered his hand, was unfathomable. Mind
you, not the cleverest of chaps, Benedict found much unfathomable these
days.
“Nor do I.” Francis sounded glum.
“And I’m tired of all this waiting.” Though he was usually even-tempered, his
mouth formed a petulant moue. “Perhaps we could elope? Not to beat about the
bush, but old Lord Ludham seems to have forgotten that young men in love have
certain...urges.”
“Eloping won’t endear you to him,”
rebuked Benedict mildly. “Many uncertainties prevail in this life—as this
newspaper insists on reminding me—but I can assure you that isn’t one of them.
And the less I hear about your urges at the breakfast table, the better my
digestion.”
about the author:
Fearne Hill resides far from the
madding crowds in the county of Dorset, deep in the British countryside. She
likes it that way. Her queer romance, Two Tribes, was a finalist in
the 2023 Lambda Literary Awards. Her popular Rossingley series was
nominated in nine separate categories of the 2021 Goodreads M/M Romance awards
and received an Honourable Mention in the 2021 Rainbow
Awards.
My pro hockey dreams are hanging by a thread. I need to have a great
season, and that means no partying, no distractions, no fun. A grad student’s science experiment is the definition
of no fun, so…okay.
Pros and cons of agreeing to this deal:
Pro: Positive use of free time. (At least, that’s what my agent
says.)
Con: Malcolm is bossy, clumsy, and he doesn’t know the first thing
about hockey.
But he’s also cute and he’s got a great sense of humor and—oh,
no.
I cannot have a crush on the geek. No way. Not now.Malcolm
Yes, I’m a serious student, but a hockey project is not serious. Who
cares about big, hunky hockey players zipping around a sheet of ice at warp speed? Not I.
According to my professor, however, the only way to attain the required
data is to study the specimen in his natural habitat, a.k.a., the ice rink.
Pro: My thesis should lead to a bevy of job offers.
Con: Jett. He’s impossibly big and gruff and handsome and disarmingly
charming and—
Fine. Guilty. I like the jock…perhaps too much.
Lately, I find myself wondering if there’s such a thing as a one-time shot
at forever.
One-Time Shot is a low-angst, geek-jock MM bisexual college
hockey romance featuring a charismatic hockey star and an adorkable scientist.
Lane Hayes lives in sunny Southern California with her amazing
husband, who thankfully doesn’t mind cooking, and their fabulous fox red Labrador, George, who’s pure
mischief. Both provide oodles of inspiration for the low-angst, humorous books Lane loves to write. She’s
been telling stories about sexy, funny, sometimes geeky and quirky men who find love for a dozen years now
and loving every minute. In her previous life, she sat at a desk and dealt with numbers, so yes…romance is
much more satisfying! Lane loves tea, travel, and chocolate…in any order. Add a book and she’s set!
My Readers’ Group, Lane’s Lovers: https://bit.ly/3aIbMYg My
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/3cICfaK Website: www.lane-hayes.com Blue Sky:
https://bsky.app/profile/lanehayes.bsky.social Twitter: twitter.com/LaneHayes3 FB:
facebook.com/LaneHayesAuthor Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/lanehayes BookBub:
bookbub.com/authors/lane-hayes Instagram: instagram.com/lanehayesauthor/ Goodreads:
goodreads.com/LaneHayes
Length: 396
pages Series: The Mage and His Brute Book 2 Prior Reading:
recommended Genre: Historical fantasy romance Tropes:
Enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, magic and mystery
Magic defines who they are. But what happens when that power can be
stolen?
In a Victorian London where magical privilege divides society, Duke Evander
Ravenwood and Viggo Stonewall have forged more than just an alliance—they’ve fallen in love. But their
happiness is short-lived when a new threat emerges from the shadows of London’s magical society.
A
renowned professor from the Royal Institute for the Arcane has vanished, leaving behind whispers of forbidden
magic and mysterious experiments. As Evander begins to investigate, complications arise with the arrival of his
enigmatic former lover from Paris. An expert called in to help, Leon Beaulieu brings old emotions and new
secrets to light and soon becomes a source of jealousy for Viggo.
Meanwhile, troubling rumours reach
the Nightshade network: thralls linked to noble families are disappearing across London.Determined to track down the perpetrator, Viggo and his friends are drawn into a perilous hunt for an elusive
adversary working from the shadows.
Realising their cases are intertwined, Evander and Viggo join
forces to unravel the mysteries behind the professor’s disappearance and the missing thralls. But their search
soon plunges them into a web of conspiracies rooted in decades-old betrayals and ambition—where nothing,
and no one, is quite as it seems.
As allies become adversaries and the true mastermind closes in,
Evander and Viggo will need their wits—and their trust in each other—if they’re to survive the darkness
gathering around them.
Stolen Magic is a spellbinding tale of magic, mystery, and
romance that will captivate readers from the first page to the last. Perfect for fans of historical fantasy and
LGBT romance, this second instalment in The Mage and His Brute series promises an
unforgettable journey through a London where love and magic intertwine in the most unexpected ways.
Ava Marie Salinger is the romance pen name of an Amazon bestselling
author with a passion for writing addictive tales. Known for her action-packed and thrilling urban fantasy
novels, she has expanded her repertoire with the introduction of the M/M urban fantasy romance series Fallen
Messengers.
Additionally, she has penned the scorching hot contemporary M/M romance
series Nights and Twilight Falls as A.M. Salinger.
When not immersed in her writing, Ava can be found curating inspiring music
playlists, indulging in her love for nature, marveling at the latest gadgets, and savoring Chinese cuisine.
Connect with
Ava: https://linktr.ee/avamariesalingerauthor
