A Band-Com for Romance Geeks
Author: Kata ÄuiÄ
Genre: Romantic Comedy
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Title: Keep the Beat
A Band-Com for Romance Geeks Author: Kata ÄuiÄ Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: April 21, 2020
Blurb
Sophia Reston has never been bothered by the term band geek. The definition of geek is an enthusiast or expert in a particular field or activity. She loves marching band with all her heart, so the term is appropriate. Of course, one of the lesser known definitions of a geek is a carnival performer who is often billed as a wild man and whose act typically includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake. This definition also seems accurate since there is one snake Sophia fantasizes about maiming in the most deliciously torturous waysâher archnemesis, James Fossoway.
He has a stupid nickname, stupidly attractive muscles, a reputation for sleeping around, and he is a fellow band geek. Unfortunately for Sophia, heâs also an enthusiast of pushing all her buttonsâand not in a good way.
When their rivalry leads to one final showdown during the competition for head drum major, the entire band is invested in the outcome. And James has some new tricks up his sleeve to win the last battle theyâll ever wage against each other.
Because, after years of pranks, James isnât out for revenge. He wants Sophiaâs heart.
Or maybe it's just another dumb challenge.
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Excerpt
âWhere is this secret meeting being held?â I whisper as we hug the shadows, so none of the underclassmen will catch us.
Shannon is the trumpet section leader; Iâm one of the drum majors. That means weâre at the beck and call of any band member who needs help, especially this week. If a nervous freshman spots us, weâre done for.
âIn the instrument room,â she whispers back.
Right under my nose on hallowed ground. The nerve of Jimbo.
At least that helps us stay on the side of covert surveillance. We sneak into the main band room without being seen since the lights are on night mode then hightail it into the uniform room, which just so happens to be separated from the instrument room by a weird window. Itâs opaque enough to keep our cover but mostly, itâs a useless decoration, so we can still hear everything. With the lights off in here, it makes it even easier to see the vague forms of several bodies in the other room.
Four large bodies in fact. One for every drum major except me.
âShh,â Shannon hisses.
âYou shush,â I whisper back.
We stop shoving each other for the best viewpoint when the sound of Jimboâs annoying voice carries through the window.
âThere hasnât been a woman drum major in the past one hundred years. Thereâs not going to be one now.â
Fucking pig.
Nateâs voice pulls me out of my plans for homicide. âI dunno, man. All she has to do is use the #MeToo movement to get the spot. One word to the directors that sheâs faced harassment just because she has a pussy, and theyâll give it to her. You know they will.â
Eww! What the fuck? I always thought Nate was a decent guy, but obviously not. Why the hell would I make a false claim? Why wouldnât I want to earn my spot, same as anyone else in the history of the band? Obviously, Iâm already facing harassment as the only female drum major, but that only makes me want to crush them on my merits instead of on my breast size even more.
âAnd Iâm telling you they wonât.â Jimboâs voice sounds relaxed on the surface, but thereâs an underlying edge to it that makes me think heâs gritting his teeth. Heâs never had very much patience for people who donât bow down easily and accept him as their supreme overlord. âI have a plan.â
âOh, youâve got a plan?â Another of the guys, Tim, laughs. âTo put yourself in the head drum major spot. What the hell does that have to do with any of us?â
âNate isnât wrong. Sophie has the best chance to get it out of any of us.â
I clench my jaw. I hate it when Jimbo calls me Sophie.
âYou just said thereâs not going to be a female head drum major this year,â Jake, a fellow trumpet, practically sneers. I like Jake. âSo, how do you figure she has the best chance?â
âBecause sheâs a woman,â Jimbo emphasizes like theyâre all clearly stupid for not following his invisible train of thought.
I think itâs Tim who throws his arms up in the air. Itâs definitely his voice. âThat doesnât make any sense!â
A body presumably belonging to the snake I hate the most leans forward in a chair, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands together. âThe directors are putting it up to a vote this year, yes? And what is the ratio of men to women in this marching band?â
Nate huffs out a breath of frustration. âItâs about fifty-fifty. Whatâs your point?â
âMy point is, itâs not an exact split,â Jimbo explains, his tone quickly running out of patience. âThere are a hundred ninety-eight women and only a hundred twenty-nine men. Now, I donât know about everyoneâs sexuality, but Iâd rather stare at a sweet pair of tits on that main podium than an accidental boner in wool pants.â
Shannonâs body tenses like sheâs going to leap through the window, so I wrap her in my arms to hold her still.
âDonât. I need to hear this.â
âGet your phone out and record it,â she hisses. âShow it to the directors. Youâll get the spot and be rid of him forever.â
True, but whereâs the fun in that? Itâll hurt more if he fails and has to watch my sweet tits up on that podium every game.
âIâve never let him beat me before. Iâm not about to start now.â
âUgh, fine,â Shannon whispers and goes limp.
âWhich brings me back to my plan.â Jimbo grins with his words. âIf we take that fine rack and tight ass off the market, the guysâ votes are suddenly more ⦠changeable.â
âOnly if you donât care about the lesbians in band.â Jake snickers.
âIâm going to take care of their votes, too.â The silhouette of Jimbo leans back in the chair, placing his hands behind his head in a relaxed pose that indicates he thinks his plan is foolproof.
âSpit it out already!â Nate yells.
âIâm gonna make her fall in love with me.â
For a split second, everything goes deathly silent. Or maybe thatâs just because my heart stops beating.
A chorus of laughter defibrillates me back to life.
âI have never seen anyone hate someone as much as Sophia hates you.â Nate cackles. It takes him a few tries to catch his breath. âThereâs no way, man. Thereâs just no way. Itâs a great plan, but you need to let one of us do the wooing. At least weâll all have a shot at the votes that way.â
Author Bio
Kata ÄuiÄ lives in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband and three teens. Sheâs an actual marching band geek, and she attends alumni events for both high school and college whenever her schedule allows. Her children wouldnât exist today if she hadnât fallen clarinet over tuba in love with her spouse during their shared time in marching band. Coincidentallyâor notâthe kids are following in Mom and Dadâs footsteps. Band family isnât fictional at all.
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Title: Dirty Deeds
Series: Devils Kings MC #1
Author: Nicole James
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Cover Design: Lori Jackson Designs Photo: Wander Aguiar Photography Model: Theo Release Date: March 26, 2020
Blurb
Kara Harbingerâs only crime is having a court judge for a father. One who just happens to be presiding over the criminal case of the President of the Devil Kings MC. The DKs are about to use the biggest Achillesâ heel heâs got to bend him to their will, to buy his decision, to buy his very soul.
Renoâ I want nothing to do with this job, but I canât get out of it. As a member of the Devil Kings MC, my life is a violent existence hinged on loyalty to the oath I took: Devil Kings before all else. Iâm the clubâs muscle, the brother they give the vicious, vile jobs, the dirty deeds. When it comes to my club, I do whatever they ask, whatever they need. Then I see Kara, all sweet and innocent with her soulful eyes and sexy body. Sheâs a bright light in my dark existence. In her eyes, I see an escape from the brutal life Iâve lived for so long, a life void of feelings, emotions and light. She gives me the faith to believe I can have more, to believe I can have everything. What do I do when my VP wants her taken as leverage to use against her father? What do I do when one look at Kara threatens everything I thought I held dear? What do I do if they want me to put a gun to her head and end her life? Iâll have to convince her to trust me if I have any hope of getting us both out of this alive. Karaâ Heâs the only one who can save me. Iâm not supposed to want a man like Reno. Heâs dangerousâa lawless, badass, alpha biker. I know I should be afraid, but the way he looks at me, with hunger in his eyes makes me want to become his. I believed the lies he told me. I thought he was a good guy. But when he takes me hostage, everything I thought about him is turned on its head. Now he expects me to trust him, even as he holds me captive.
How can I trust a man whose loyalty is to his club, a club that wants me dead?
Author Bio
Nicole James is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author who loves writing about hot alpha men who'll do anything for the women they love! Her stories are filled with struggle, conflict and real human emotion. She is the author of the Evil Dead MC series, the Brothers Ink Tattoo series and more.
Nicole loves to hear from her readers! You can contact her via e-mail, her website contact form or on her social media accounts.
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Title: Down to Fall
Series: Love Happens #5
Author: Jodi Watters
Genre: Steamy Contemporary Romance
Release Date: March 20, 2020
Blurb
A lust story. Only meant to be temporary.
A love story. Always meant to be permanent.
A hate story. Never meant to be.
This... is all three.
Nicole
It started in an elevator in California. Our lust story.
You know, the kind you know going in is a bad idea, but... the nagging desire and all. A few drinks in the hotel bar across from our workplace. A few nights in a luxury suite twenty floors above. What could it hurt?
Innocent fun would be had by all, and Iâd walk away a well-satisfied woman. Ready to continue my life of brokenhearted loneliness.
Grady
It started on a ridge in Afghanistan. Our love story.
You know, the kind you felt in your soul at first sight, but... the tragic circumstances and all. Intentionally casual conversation over Irish whiskey. Intentionally casual sex over the course of two weeks. How could I refuse?
Guilt-ridden bonds would be built, and Iâd confess my darkest sin. Beg for forgiveness five years overdue and clean my conscience along with it.
It started with the cold hard truth. Our hate story.
You know, the kind that could end a surprisingly beautiful beginning.
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Excerpt
Ten minutes after he agreed, Nicole found herself standing inside a deluxe suite at the Hyatt, their tryst beginning in the lap of luxury.
It would end here too, but only after sheâd had her fill of him and/or thirteen days had passed, whichever came first. Based on the way that gray t-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, and if there were tattoos and tan lines under it, sheâd run out of time before she ran out of desire.
Backing her up against the hotel room door, Grady leaned in but didnât touch her, only locking the deadbolt and flipping the security bar, the sound loud in the hushed darkness of the room.
âYou sure about this?â His masculinity surrounded her, warm and wicked. His height dwarfed her, tall and tantalizing.
âYes,â she whispered. âAre you?â
âNo,â he choked out, his voice gravelly. âNo, Iâm not sure. But thereâs nowhere else Iâd rather be.â
Theyâd never been this close before, but if sheâd known his strength was so powerful, his scent so heady, his size so commanding, sheâd have cornered him weeks ago. Probably humped his camo-panted leg like a dog in heat.
Well, heâd better be ready. She was about to be unleashed. Which was to say, heâd be on the receiving end of her largely limitedâand significantly rustyâsexual repertoire.
Comparing herself to the animalistic dynamo that was a female canine in heat was her ego talking. Oh, she could get the job done, no doubt about it, but Grady might not be so impressed heâd hire her again, if you caught her drift.
Thirteen days might turn into a one-and-done situation.
But luckily, sheâd made that quick drugstore run during her lunch break yesterday, so she was fully prepared. Condoms, a Lady Bic razor and shaving gel, and a king-sized Kit Kat bar completed her purchase. The condoms were a necessityâsafety first, âcause thatâs how ole Nicole rolled. The razor because, between the two of them, he should be the only one with stubble. The chocolate was simply because she hadnât had sex in a longer timespan than your average bad-credit car loan, and that fact would make any girl self-medicate.
Thankfully sheâd had the foresight to buy a half dozen candy bars and wasnât ashamed to admit sheâd powered one down just prior to stalking him via the elevator tonight.
Chocolate might give her cellulite, but it also gave her courage. Courage she desperately needed, because right about now, she was feeling like a born-again virgin.
Unsure. Unsteady. And unprepared for the sight he was about to bestow upon her.
Bare, muscled skin.
Their suite was several stories high, the only glow in the room from the small lamp on the nightstand and that of a thousand twinkling lights from the surrounding downtown buildings. The panoramic floor to ceiling windows offered an amazing view, day or night, and though the drapes were drawn open to the outside world, they were cocooned inside by the soft radiance of a single bulb.
The only people on earth.
Moving deeper into the room, his eyes barely left hers as he tugged his t-shirt off, lazily dropping it to the floor.
My god.
There were tattoos. Plural. And in nearly the exact location of her fantasies.
The letter F was inked over his left pec muscle, a single initial monogrammed in an Old English decorative script. F for Foster. Underneath that same glorious pec muscle was a short verse, in a cleaner, simpler font, that wrapped horizontally around his torso toward his back.
It was too dark in the room for her to read the words, but that task was now on the tippy top of her To-Do list.
What she could read was the larger quote tattooed along the right side of his collar bone. De oppresso liber. To liberate the oppressed. The motto of the United States Army Special Forces.
Donât ask her how she knew that. It wasnât a fun tale to tell.
âWhatâs going through that pretty head of yours?â
Swallowing, she regained the use of language. âThat I wanna lick your tattoos.â
A smartass grin graced his beautifully sculpted mouth. âDamn. Shouldâve tattooed my dick.â
The button on his pants popped, the slide of his zipper letting loose a hoard of butterflies in her stomach when he opened the placket. Dark shadows hid his best asset, his intention only to relieve the pressure, not release the beast.
He neednât worry. She wanted to lick that too.
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Author Bio
My love for steamy romance began when I was in junior high. A friend and I noticed a dumpster of discarded paperbacks behind our local dime store. Covers missing and each book split down the spine, I scanned the pages for any love or lust wordsâand curse words, too. From that point on, I scoured the public library and the paperback racks at every store, reading anything labeled romance. I said a tearfully grateful goodbye to Judy Bloom, and Jackie Collins began ruling my world.
I live with my high school sweetheart husband in the desert Southwest. Awesome in the winter, not so much in the summer.
My life long goals are to think before I speak, smile more and swear less, and actually weigh what my driver's license states I do.
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Title: Marked
Series: Playing Games #1
Author: Rebecca Barber
Genre: Sports Romance
Release Date: March 19, 2020
Blurb
Logan-freaking-Oliver.
Sure the million-dollar pretty boy can play football. At least that’s what the papers lead us to believe. Me though, I’m not so convinced. Sure he's got a backside you could bounce quarters off, arms you want wrapped around you, dimples you’d drown in and hair you’d sell your mother to pull... but is he a nice guy or has he let fame go to his head? I wasn’t one of his adoring fans, throwing my granny panties at his feet... that was until I met him and he completely screwed me...
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Excerpt
“So, you’re really not coming out with me?” “Not tonight.” “What are you gonna do instead? Sit in your room and hang out with Mrs Palmer?” “Who?” “You know…Mrs Palmer and her five daughters?” Bryce was looking at me like I should know exactly what he was carrying on about. The truth was, I had no fucking idea. He’d completely lost the plot. “Spank the monkey? Flog your log?” Ah, now I knew where he was going with this. Arsehole. “Choke the chicken? Jerkin’ your gherkin?” Holding up my hand, I begged. “Please! Enough. Please stop.” “So touchy. Maybe you should try giving the old slug a tug. You never know, it might relax you. You know, take the edge off. Relieve some of that pent-up stress.”
Author Bio
Rebecca is a clumsy, introverted, bubble bath loving, chocoholic who'd rather read a book than go shopping. And don't even mention shoe shopping!
Rebecca is a lucky girl - one of four kids to school teacher parents. Wife to a football obsessed husband. Mother to a fur-baby who has no idea how big he is. Aunt to the most crazy/adorable little girls. And sister to two very determined sisters and one easy going brother. Rebecca lives in Canberra Australia and spends way too many hours a day working the day job. She is a book whore who can easily (and happily) read a book from start to finish in one sitting and spends her spare time writing.
Title: Unexpected Odds
Series: Unexpected Arrivals #5
Author: Kaylee Ryan
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release Date: March 19, 2020
Blurb
They say the mistakes of our past shape our future. That weâre molded from experience, from heartache, and from pain.
What happens when your past is riddled with regrets?
How do you see through the fog, to navigate the path to your future?
One breath.
One second.
One minute.
One hour.
One day at a time, you learn to live with your unexpected odds.
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Author Bio
Kaylee Ryan is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author. When sheâs not spinning tales of happily ever after, sheâs reading or spending time with family. Born and raised an Ohio girl, Kaylee resides in Cincinnati with her husband and their son.
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Title: Inevitable
Series: Stonewood Brothers #1
Author: Shain Rose
Genre: Second Chance Standalone Romance
Release Date: March 19, 2020
Blurb
Aubrey
The day I lost my parents was the day he saved me.
Jax Stonewoodâmy best friend's older brother.
He was never meant to be my savior. My first real love.
And certainly not my greatest heartbreak.
I spent years getting over him and now he's backâthe nationâs most-streamed artist and eligible bachelor... but I'm not falling for him again.
Jax and I are done.
Jax
The day I saved her was the day I lost myself to her.
Aubrey Whitfield was only ever supposed to be my brotherâs best friend.
Not my life. Not the one I would die for.
Definitely not the one that would break me.
Sheâs built up walls to shut me out but I wonât leave her behind again.
Our souls are welded together.
Aubrey has always been mine. Iâll make her remember...Whether she likes it or not.
Weâre inevitable.
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Excerpt
âWe canât be friends, and we canât work through whatever is between us. No one is supposed to go through what we did and then be able to live in sync with each other, especially when you add my father to the mix.â
âIsnât that what specifically makes it so we can live in sync? Weâre the only ones who know what it's like to go through that trauma and survive.â
Her shoulders slumped, her little mouth turning down just enough so that her bottom lip jutted out. She stared out the kitchen window as if hoping to find some spark of hope there.
She wouldnât.
âHow can you honestly think that what we have is healthy or right?â
âI donât think us being together is any of those things, Peaches.â
Her eyes snapped to me.
âItâs just inevitable.â
Author Bio
Shain Rose is an author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She fights for love one word a time. Those happily ever afters can sometimes be a bitch to get to.
When she isn't writing, she's spending the days with her husband, daughter, son, and terrible cat. She and her husband drink way too much coffee, eat way too much candy, and laugh way too much. Life is good when the kids are behaving.
On the off chance sheâs not writing or spending time with family and friends, sheâs calling them to talk. And if no one answers, then she's reading and watching trashy TV.
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Title: Own the Eights
Series: Own the Eights #1
Author: Krista Sandor
Genre: Steamy Romantic Comedy
Release Date: March 19, 2020
Blurb
Bookshop owner, Georgie Jensen, is done with shallow jerks. Her Own the Eights blog dishes out advice on how to steer clear of egotistical creeps only concerned with looks and status. Her focus is finding oneâs true soulmateânot the superficial ten but the solid, reliable eight.
Jordan Marks is the cityâs top fitness trainer who wonât settle for anything less than the best. His blog promotes working hard, playing harder, and striving to always beâyou guessed itâa ten.
When these two opposites are forced to team-up for an online competition, opinions clash and mouse pads fly.
The twist: there can only be one winner, and if Georgie wants to keep her shop open, that winner needs to be her.
But the more time this eight and this ten spend together, the more they learn that, when it comes to love, a number might not be what matters the most.
Own the Eights is a steamy rom-com full of heart, heat, and oodles of laugh out loud moments!
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âIâm going to kiss you, Georgie, and itâs going to be the best kiss youâve ever had.â
âDoubtful,â she answered in a tight breath.
He tilted her head, and her warm breath tickled his lips. âThereâs something you need to know about me.â
âWhatâs that?â she asked as she gripped his forearms.
âI donât settle for anything less than the best. I work damn hard. I finish everything I start, and I always win.â
She bit her lip. âThatâs too bad.â
âOh yeah?â he breathed.
âYeah. Prepare yourself to lose this competition and this kiss challenge because Iâll tell you right now, I have more determination in my little finger than you do in your entire perfect, muscle-bound body.â
Author Bio
Amazon Bestselling Author and terrible cook, Krista Sandor writes steamy contemporary romance with toe-curlingly hot heroes and heroines you'll want as your best friends.
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Title: Take Two
Author: Heather M. Orgeron
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date: March 19, 2020
Blurb
Who says you canât marry the same mistake twice?
Certainly not Nya Perez...because thatâs precisely what sheâs done. Liam Watts is the bane of her existence. Her first love. Father of her child. And breaker of her heart. Oh, heâs also her ex-husband. Well, he was, anyway...right up til this morning, when she woke up beside him in a Vegas hotel room, sheathed in satin and tulle with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. If it were just between the two of them, an annulment would be the obvious solution. After all, they wouldnât be the first to marry and divorce at the little white chapel in the span of twenty-four hours. But their daughterâs greatest wish has just been granted, and if thereâs one heart Nya wants to protect more than her own, itâs Ellieâs. So, she promises to give it six months. Thereâs no way sheâll be swayed by his thick southern drawl, those well-defined abs, or that annoyingly delectable scruff lining his cheeks. Nope. Sheâs got it all under control. Six months of playing house, then everything can go back to the way it was before. But first sheâll have to muddle through marriage with Liamâtake two.
Heather M. Orgeron is a Cajun girl with a big heart and a passion for romance. She married her high school sweetheart two months after graduation and her life has been a fairytale ever since. Sheâs the queen of her castle, reigning over five sons and one bossy little princess who has made it her mission in life to steal her Mommaâs throne. When sheâs not writing, you will find her hidden beneath mounds of laundry and piles of dirty dishes or locked in her tower(aka the bathroom) soaking in the tub with a good book. Sheâs always been an avid reader and has recently discovered a love for cultivating romantic stories of her own.
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Title: Havoc
Author: S.S. Richards Genre: Dark Romantic Suspense
Release Date: April 16, 2020
Blurb
I changed my name and my identity. I swore heâd never find me.
I thought I had planned it well.
Until he showed up in the middle of the day â tall, handsome and powerful.
It took me three years to build myself up from scratch, cut everybody off and build a life that has nothing to do with my past.
And it took him one day to destroy everything Iâd built.
My disappearance caused the people of my town to come up with their own stories about me. But most importantly, it caused Daniel to wreak havoc.
This is a full length standalone dark romantic suspense.
As a young teenager, S.S. Richards started creating imaginary friends and could invent a story in her head within a matter of seconds. A gift that lead her into believing she may be âsuper talentedâ after all. One day she decided to open her laptop and start feeding words into it, and thatâs where it all begun. She decided to make a career out of writing.
She also loves to hear from readers.
Feel free to email her at: [email protected]
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Title: Mine
Series: Ties That Bind #1
Authors: Natasha Knight & A. Zavarelli
Genre: Dark Mafia Romance
Release Date: March 17, 2020
Blurb
She was never supposed to walk into my club.
But she did.
I shouldnât have looked twice at her.
But I did.
The criminal underworld is no place for a girl like her.
One night with Katerina isnât enough, but men like me canât afford to be weak.
So, I tell her to leave me behind.
She does, but not before she sees something she shouldnât.
When she goes into hiding, itâs my duty to hunt her down.
I have a job to do, and she needs to disappear for good.
But four years later, Kat isnât alone anymore.
And the little boy right beside her looks just like me.
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Releasing April 21
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Natasha Knight
USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance, Natasha Knight specializes in dark, tortured heroes. Happily-Ever-Afters are almost always guaranteed, but she likes to put her characters through hell to get them there. Sheâs evil like that.
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A. Zavarelli
A. Zavarelli is a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author.
She likes all things chocolate, books that come with warnings, and putting her characters through hell. Her tales have been known to flirt with darkness and sometimes court it unabashedly altogether. Revenge themes and tortured souls are her favorites to write and this gives her an excuse to watch bizarre and twisted documentaries in her spare time.
She currently lives in the Northwest with her lumberjack and an entire brood of fur babies.
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