June 2018 – Page 16 – Sincerely Karen Jo

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Hard Love
Shana Vanterpool
(Guns & Ink #2)
Published by: Swoon Romance
Publication date: May 22nd 2018
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

When two people in pain collide, there is something intoxicating about drowning in the chaos of hard love.

Brando Hawkins is a detective with the Denver Police Department. The world should be his to take. He’s a dedicated officer with a promising career. But Brando’s got secrets. Dark, ruthless secrets. At twenty-six, he’s burned-out, and the sight of another body, one more unhappy ending, might just do him in.

Catherine Abbott is a woman who wars with her demons and guards her heart. Immersed in a world where people ink their lives on their skin, Catherine trusts only that which she can see. And, as a rape survivor, she finds comfort in control.

But Brando’s demons start to tangle with hers. They’re dangerous, like hers. But they’re beautiful too.

A spray of bullets brings them together, and the pain of their pasts collide with the lure of their futures. Cat wants to mend his heart and his wounds, but Brando’s secrets lay tucked away in a vault so tightly sealed, she can’t get through.

Everything around them is covered in the confusion of love and the burn of revenge, but no one ever said love was easy.

Hard Love is the next standalone installment in the Guns & Ink series by Shana Vanterpool, a world of tattoos, love, and redemption from Swoon Romance.

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Life had a way of expunging your expectations.

But it also had a way of rebuilding them.

I met a hero the day I walked into Klayton’s tattoo shop, broken and terrified. My heart was tattered, and my mental state was a plain of rubble in my skull. He wasn’t your typical hero. But atypical was exactly what I needed. I needed strength to combat my weaknesses. I needed love to fight my terror. And I needed someone to look at me like I was whole, when I feared I never would be again.

I sometimes wished we could have a do-over. That I could walk into his tattoo shop smiling, clean, and glowing. But that would only erase the brutal, beautiful truth of us. I didn’t walk into his tattoo shop smiling, I wasn’t clean, and I was severely damaged.

But Klayton loved me anyway. Even when I was empty, even when I was broken.

Even when I was mad.

authorbio2

When I walk into a book store I feel at home. When I smell the pages of a brand new book things make sense. When I read I am who I always wanted to be. I read to escape and I write so others can as well. My family, my actress dog Bella, coffee, and a steamy love story are a few of my most precious things.

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sincerelykarenjoendsign

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John Bishop isn’t your typical single dad.

Reserved, impatient, and utterly clueless.

Running the family’s bed and breakfast has many perks. Working long hours, picking up after the guests, and hearing couples going at it all night long aren’t any of them. Hooking up with girls who come to the ranch for horseback riding lessons? Best perk of them all.

That is until a baby shows up at his doorstep with a note claiming it’s his. Growing up on a ranch was anything but easy, but raising a newborn is proving to be the hardest task he’ll ever tackle. Leaving the bachelor life behind, his only priority is to hire a nanny who can teach him a thing or two about parenting—except he doesn’t anticipate her being gorgeous and quirky with an unhealthy football obsession.

Mila Carmichael has many talents—making balloon animals, creating origami art, and remaining in the friend zone. Often seen as one of the guys, she’s struck out more times than a rookie baseball player.

Seeking a new adventure, she flies to Texas to visit family and is offered a position she can’t refuse. Helping out a new dad should come easy to her, considering her past experience, but what she doesn’t anticipate is him being an attractive Southern temptation.

But that’s only the beginning.

While growing close to his family and falling madly in love with the baby girl who’s stealing their hearts, things are bound to get complicated. Everyone knows not to mix business with pleasure. That means no late movie nights, no stolen glances, and definitely no kissing behind closed doors. Too bad the universe has other plans—one that’ll threaten taking away the main thing that binds them together.

Chasing Him will go live on iBooks/Kobo/B&N on June 26th and then be taken off and go live exclusively on Amazon June 28th!

Amazon US | Amazon International | iBooks | Kobo | B&N

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John’s POV

It’s been three days since Mila started working for me and so far she’s been a complete blessing. I know Maize’s in safe keeping and that’s all I’ve ever wanted though I can’t say I’m getting any more sleep.

After lunch, I fall asleep again and this time I’m woken up by a guest bitching about a toilet issue. Usually, I’m friendly and have a smile plastered on my face, but honestly, I’m pissed. Mama caught wind of me snapping at someone and practically threatened to fire me, which I know would never happen, but it was a wake up call that I need more sleep at night and that’s not going to happen until Maize is sleeping in longer stretches. Any little noise I hear, I’m wide awake and then I can barely fall back asleep. By the time I do, it’s time to get up for work. I feel as if I could sleep for a week straight.

After falling asleep for the third time today, I force myself to stand the rest of my shift. I’ve had so many ridiculous things happen today that I swear it’s Friday the thirteenth. By the time I make it home, I’m so fucking exhausted that I can barely keep my eyes open. When I walk in, I see Jackson flirting with Mila and it annoys the fuck out of me.

“Jackson, kitchen,” I bark when Mila walks into the room to check on Maize.

“What?” He looks at me, slyly.

Leaning against the counter, I cross my arms over my chest and give it to him straight. “Listen. There’s a few rules you need to adhere too.”

He sarcastically nods his head, which pisses me off further.

“Don’t look at my nanny like that ever again.”

“Like what?” he asks.

I narrow my eyes because he knows damn well what I’m talking about. “I don’t need you scaring her away and leaving me without help. So don’t hit on my nanny. Don’t flirt with her, ask her out, and don’t you dare fuck my nanny.”

He arches a brow and crosses his arms as if to ask if I’m done—as if to challenge me on everything I just listed.

“Basically, stay away from my nanny. Got it?”

Jackson bursts out into laughter. He’s doubled over trying to catch his breath but I’m as serious as a heart attack, ready to punch him in the chest and threaten his life if he breaks my rules.

“Why? Are you fucking her?” he asks, laughing with amusement. “God knows you’re worse than me.”

“No. Hell no. Those rules are for everyone, and if you break them, I’ll break your fucking neck.”

He leans over and whispers loud enough for just me to hear. “But you want to.”

authorbio2

Brooke Cumberland & Lyra Parish are a duo of romance authors who teamed up to write under the USA Today Bestselling pseudonym, Kennedy Fox. They share a love of You’ve Got Mail and The Holiday. When they aren’t bonding over romantic comedies, they like to brainstorm new book ideas. One day, they decided to collaborate and have some fun creating new characters that’ll make your lady bits tingle and your heart melt. If you enjoy romance stories with sexy, tattooed alpha males and smart, independent women, then a Kennedy Fox book is for you!