As one of five sisters (yes, you read that right, five) it’s very important to me to have strong female friendships in all my books, whether they are biological sister or sisters of the heart. I can’t count all the times my sisters have had my back. I also can’t count all the times they “borrowed” my stuff and never returned it, but that’s another post for another time. Female friendship is so important, especially when the media tries to convince women we should all be competing against each other. As if there’s only one ‘top woman’ prize and we have to “catfight” to get it. Well, these claws will come out, but only if someone messes with my ladies because the great Beyoncé is right, girls run the world and it’s about time we started seeing healthy, positive female friendships represented in media. So on that note, let me gush about my favorite female buddy movies. The Spy Who Dumped Me: I have informed my husband that Kate McKinnon is on my Hollywood Freebie list, because that woman is beautiful, smart, and funny. My true love trifecta. So many moments in this movie made me laugh including Audrey’s secret…

by Senior Reviewer Miranda Owen Haven’t we met? Some kind of beautiful stranger You could be good for me I’ve had the taste for danger If I’m smart then I’ll run away But I’m not so I guess I’ll stay Haven’t you heard? I fell in love with a beautiful stranger –Beautiful Stranger, Madonna Two of my favorite romance authors are Mary Balogh and Jennifer Ashley. Both authors write well-crafted character-driven stories that capture the imagination. Both authors also write about extremely close yet also extremely complicated families. Two of my all-time favorite books are both by these authors and are both about characters who meet under unusual circumstances, but who find something compelling and experience an unexplainable initial attraction. I’ve always maintained that AT LAST COMES LOVE by Mary Balogh has one of the best introduction scenes and “getting to know you” dialogue I’ve ever read. The scandalous Duncan Pennethorne, the Earl of Sheringford and beautiful yet very respectable Margaret Huxtable collide at a time when they each have something the other desires. Duncan is looking for a well-connected wealthy wife to satisfy his grandfather and secure his inheritance and, and that particular moment, Margaret needs a fake beau…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction! Tell us about yourself and the second book in your Must Love Babies series, I’VE GOT YOU, BABE. Thanks so much for having me here with you today to talk about my new release. I know a mom isn’t supposed to have favorites but…this book really speaks to my heart! I’ve lived in Pennsylvania, New York, Wyoming, Florida, and Georgia and throw a little of each of these places into my writing. Now that I’ve traded teaching for full-time writing, I can truly fall into my books and it’s a wonderful thing. In I’ve Got You, Babe, Tucker Wylder is looking forward to the coming weekend in an isolated cabin, just him and his fishing pole, when his world is sent spinning out of control by a damsel in distress, one who comes with a precocious, three-year-old daughter. Tucker has no desire to play the knight in shining armor. I’ve Got You, Babe is a story about healing and redemption. It’s about hitting rock bottom and struggling to find a handhold. It’s about both the hero and the heroine accepting that, sometimes, a helping hand is exactly what’s needed. Most of all? It’s a journey to…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors as a reader you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present OLIVIA STEPHEN! WRITES: I write contemporary romance which can be classified as hot and, according to my mother, spicy, with a bit of humor or a touch of angst, leading up to an oh-so-satisfying happily ever after. ABOUT: This girl is a romantic at heart, having lived out my own second chance romance with my husband of twenty-six years. A long term relationship in high school, a devastating breakup, and five years living hours away from each other wasn’t enough to keep us apart. We reconnected. Now I’m living my real life happily ever after, and having a blast writing them for others to enjoy. WHAT I’M LOOKING FOR IN MY IDEAL READER MATCH:  feels the tingles and butterflies when the hero and heroine come together in their first kiss loves the undeniable sexual tension between the hero and heroine appreciates the emotions the hero and heroine bring out in each other gets lost in the journey to the hero and heroine’s…

Set-Up: Lady Charlotte Hastings and Lord Malverne, along with their aunt, Lady Chelmsford, have taken Sophie Brightwell for a jaunt through Hyde Park during the fashionable hour. . . Lord Malverne leaned closer, drawing her attention away from the lake. “So was I correct in my assessment that ton­nish activities are tiresome?” he murmured in a conspirato­rial fashion. “I’m quite content to enjoy the view,” remarked Sophie, trying to ignore the scent of Lord Malverne’s spicy cologne as it teased her nostrils, or the bump of his pantaloon-clad knee against hers. She didn’t think it would be wise to agree with him within earshot of Charlie, Lady Chelms­ford, or their current conversation partners, the Countess of Poole and her decidedly spinsterish sister. Lord Malverne smiled in such a way that Sophie’s heart tripped and her cheeks heated. “So am I. The view is quite spectacular.” “You really shouldn’t do that,” she said, trying to adopt an expression that would pass as reproving, but wasn’t too stern. It wouldn’t do to appear waspish. Infuriatingly, Lord Malverne’s chiseled mouth simply tilted into a half-smile that was even more roguish. “Do what?” “Openly flirt with me,” replied Sophie under her breath. She tried…

The new Netflix series The Last Czars is a visually stunning and generally accurate account of Nicholas II’s ascent to the Russian throne and the mistakes he and his wife Alexandra made that more or less assured their tragic fate. However, right from the first episode, there are sex scenes galore, as if some studio exec decided it needed ‘sexing up.’ One such scene in the final episode had me yelling out loud at my screen. It showed Maria, third daughter of Nicholas and Alexandra, making out with one of the guards in the Ekaterinburg house where they were held from April to July 1918. She is unbuttoning her blouse while he is ripping off his jacket, presumably about to have consensual sex, when the door is thrown open by Avdeyev, commandant of the guards. This is implausible on many levels. First of all, Maria was a deeply religious girl, who followed the daily practices of the Russian Orthodox church and was unquestionably chaste. She was also a tsar’s daughter, who in other circumstances might have been matched with foreign royalty or a Russian aristocrat, while the guard in question was a lower-class factory worker. Maria was an obedient girl,…

My new book is called How to Cross a Marquess. Five years ago, Roger Berwick and Fenella Fairclough rebelled when their fathers tried to marry them off. They would not be ordered about! A whole lot has happened since then. They’ve both changed, and now a fiery attraction has flared between them. It’s just too ironic. Circumstances have brought these former enemies much closer than they ever could have anticipated. But various people don’t like that idea at all. The path to a happy future is convoluted. So for these two: H is for history. Theirs is complicated. O is for oh! Neither expected the passion that has flared between them. So surprising with someone you’ve known for most of your life. But people change. W is for the worrisome anonymous letters spreading rumors about them through the neighborhood. How do you fight an invisible adversary? T is for time. There seemed to be so much, and now there’s nearly none. O is for opponent. But who is it? C is for choleric. Roger finds his temper sweetened by his lovely neighbor. R is for reminiscence. Roger’s mother has much to recall. O is for overset, as circumstances spiral out…

AMALIE: Hey, Angie, should we tell the Fresh Fiction readers a little about this last book in the Tartans and Titans series? Our kilty little secret….heh. ANGIE: Yes, definitely! WHAT A SCOT WANTS is a hilarious, steamy enemies-to-lovers romance about a stoic Highlander laird who has been burned by love before and an independent heiress who is determined to remain a spinster and run her shelter house. AMALIE: Yes, and when their parents force them into a marriage of convenience, it’s a race against time to see who can make the other cry off first. There’s humor, wagers, antics, constant one-upping, and buckets of sizzling romantic tension. Seriously, buy it and love it (Jedi mind trick). *Hugs each other and does the co-author happy dance! ANGIE: Amalie, I know a lot about you but for those who aren’t as lucky as I am, can you describe yourself in five words or less? AMALIE: Only five words? That’s like torture. I would have to say I’m creative, fun-loving, humorous, passionate, free-spirited. What about you, Angie? ANGIE: I do love to challenge you from time to time! I’m relaxed, creative, inquisitive, cheerful, and active. Amalie, when you walk into a room, what…

RANCHER NEXT DOOR by Marie Johnston Part-Time Cowboys #4 Pretend to date, he said. It’ll be fine, he said. Two years ago, Lucas’s high-school sweetheart divorced him for her boss, leaving him with nothing but a string of words like unreliable, disappointing, and failure. He hasn’t looked at another woman since—a failing farm and an ailing dad are all he has time for. But when an old friend moves back next door, he can’t help but notice she’s a woman. And single. And ignoring him. Seven years ago, Trina’s boyfriend left her for greener pastures, leaving her nothing but a son and no child support to help raise him. So when she’s late for the interview of a lifetime and the childhood friend who abandoned her offers to cover, she can’t afford to say no. The proposal is clear: pretend to date him and she’ll get the job she needs with his aunt. They both know the deal. It should be no problem. But the more Lucas learns about Trina’s plans and ambitions, the more he knows his ex-wife was right—he has nothing to offer. Yet the bigger the glimpse Trina gets into Lucas’s lonely life, the more she wants…

I check out my reflection in the mirror while turning from side to side. My black mock turtleneck dress hits me just above the knees and fits me like a second skin. The long lace sleeves make the simple dress sexy, but the black leather high-heeled booties slouched around my ankles give the outfit a somewhat casual look. My long brown hair is pulled back away from my face with a clip, and my makeup is light, just some mascara, blush, bronzer, and lip gloss.  After getting home from working on my feet all day, I’m not in the mood to go out, but Charles sent a text this afternoon confirming he would be at my house tonight to pick me up, and I stupidly didn’t take that opportunity to back out of the date. When the bell rings, I take one last look at myself and grab my clutch off the bed. I make my way across the living room, and as soon as I open the door, I start to tell Charles I’ll just be a minute after I change out my bag, but it’s not Charles. It’s Tyler—Tyler wearing a pair of workman boots, dark jeans, and…