A Fabulous Collection Of Wonderfully Written Romances!
This is a grumpy sunshine romance collection. It includes seven of Winter Renshaw’s best standalones about alpha-hole heroes and the strong women they fall for.
The collection includes:
1. Stone Cold
2. Absinthe
3. Trillion
4. Hate the Game
5. Whiskey Moon
6. The Best Man
7. Enemy Dearest
FROM STONE COLD, BOOK 1:
Stone & Jovie’s Slow-Burn Is An Ex’s Best Friend Romance. It Is A Story About Loyalty.
Stone Atwood, twenty-seven, has worked hard to achieve his success. As a partner at one of the city’s best law firms, he puts in long hours. After graduating from the University of Maryland Law School, Stone had taken up his professor’s offer to start a law firm together in Portland, Maine. It brought Stone back to his home state and his best friend Jude. Jude’s life is micro-managed by his fiancée, Guinness Oil heiress and social media influencer Stassi Guinness, but they still manage to find time for their monthly trivia night.
Jude is more than a best friend; the two have been like brothers since their youth. Jude’s mom died when he was five. Stone never knew his father, so when his own mother became ill, she asked Jude’s father, Paul, to watch after Stone. She died when Stone was ten, and Paul took him in and offered him a home. Jude had always been Stone’s opposite, but their friendship worked. Jude was magnetic, outgoing, and fun, while Stone was guarded, introverted, and serious. Time and again, Jude stood up for Stone, earning his fierce loyalty. Once girls entered the picture, they agreed never to let a girl come between them.
As a divorce attorney, Stone sees the ugly side of relationships. He has only ever been in love once, but he doesn’t live in the past. He is satisfied to limit himself to physical arrangements. Jude, on the other hand, always has to be in love. He has been with Stassi for five years now, ever since a trip right after their graduation from the University of Maine. Jude’s wedding is just two months away.
Jovie Annabeth Vincent, twenty-seven, is a fool for love. She has a soft spot for animals, is eternally happy, and has always enjoyed a good romance. She majored in creative writing at the University of Maine despite everyone’s warning that it wouldn’t pay. They were wrong. As a successful historical romance writer, she gets to do what she loves for a living. Unfortunately, her personal love life has not been as successful. She’d been in love with Jude Hudson during her last three years of college; they even lived together, along with his best friend Stone, during senior year. They even looked at rings. The sudden breakup left her heartbroken. The years that followed were filled with dating apps and disappointment.
When Jovie awakes one morning to learn that she had tagged herself in Jude and Stassi’s engagement photo in the middle of the night, she is horrified. She has no recollection of doing that. Her horror is exacerbated when she is messaged by another person from her past – Jude’s best friend Stone. He chides her for her behavior and suggests she remove the tag immediately. He had never seemed to approve of her, and she never understood why. She cannot help but poke him back in her response.
Stone and Jovie might not have spoken since the breakup with Jude five years ago, but as Jude’s best friend and girlfriend, they had spent three years in college in very close quarters. They have a history together. Once that initial message opens the door, they fall back into old habits. Stone is cold and critical, while Jovie is full of smart comebacks. The walls begin to crumble, and soon they form a friendship of sorts. The couple eventually finds a happy ending.
This story has a little in common with L.J. Shen’s Ruthless Rival – a successful attorney, a conflict of interest, trivia night, and a complicated past – but they are very different stories.
Stone and Jovie had never gotten along well in the past, but soon their contentious exchanges lead to something more. The story is nicely written. The plot is fairly simple. The characters are nicely developed. The story is told in first person. The POV alternates between Stone and Jovie. I rate this book four stars.
I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
FROM TRILLION, BOOK 3:
Beautifully Written! Trey And Sophie’s Fake Marriage Story Is About Corporate Mergers, Teenage Mistakes, Selflessness, And Obsessive Love.
Pierce Ainsworth Westcott III, known as Trey, has his sights set on acquiring Ames Oil and Steel and he always gets what he wants. Always. Once named the World’s Most Eligible Bachelor, thirty-five-year-old Trey was born uber-rich, old-moneyed, and orphaned at fifteen. His parents had died in a plane crash. After attending Harvard Business School, he turned his five hundred billion dollar inheritance into more than one trillion. Today he runs Westcott Corporation, an iconic Chicago company. He loves work and has a single-minded focus. His father was obsessively in love with his mother but Trey never understood it. He doesn’t have time for emotions. He is honest, though, and never makes empty promises of love. He played the field in his twenties before he tried dating. His longest relationship was his last. It lasted two years because he was too busy to break it off. But it ended when he found Raquel in a compromising position.
Sophie Bristol, twenty-seven, has a stellar resume. A Princeton grad with dual degrees in International Business and Accounting, after graduation she had her sights set on a job at Westcott Corporation, back home in Chicago. Westcott has sixty thousand employees and is a great company to work for with upward potential. She was hired three years ago. Two promotions later, she now works in Payroll. Sophie is quite content with her life. Her job is good and she makes just enough. She is close enough to have weekly visits with her mother and younger sister Emmeline, who suffers from muscular dystrophy. As for men, an occasional hook-up is all she wants. She was burned once before and she learned the hard way not to trust a man. Sophie would never give her heart to a man again.
On the way to a meeting about the Ames merger, Trey overhears an employee defending him over baseless rumors. He can’t help but stop to listen in, but when she opens the door and they literally bump into one another, he is taken in by her stunning Marylin Monroe-esque beauty and her witty intellect. When Nolan Ames later refuses to sell his controlling shares of his family company to Trey on account of his bachelor lifestyle, Trey doesn’t give up. Nolan wants his family company to go to a family man, so the two men agree to the eventual sale and merger within two years should Trey marry and have a child. Trey won’t let something as simple as a marriage get in his way, and one woman, in particular, comes to mind.
Trey and Sophie embark on an unconventional courtship – one that Sophie repeatedly refuses to accept. But Trey’s persistence eventually wears down her barriers and opens her reluctant heart to the idea of love. Unexpected complications threaten to tear the two apart just when they begin to recognize that what they have is more real than fake, but they eventually get their well-earned happy ending.
Trey and Sophie’s story is beautifully written. It is serious in tone. The plot is somewhat complex. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between Trey and Sophie, with one chapter in Nolan’s POV. I rate this book five stars.
I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
FROM HATE THE GAME, BOOK 4:
A Solid Jock Romance, Yet Talon Is Not Quite The Typical Jock!
Irie Davenport, twenty-two, likes to go against the trends. Having been passed around like a hot potato to relatives during childhood - because she never knew her father and because her own mother was too busy living in a commune to be bothered - she never had a true sense of home or love. She remains guarded but is refreshingly unpretentious and unexpected.
Beginning the second semester of her senior year at Pacific Valley University in Southern California, and on the verge of earning her degree in interior design, she remains focused on her studies. She has had a few boyfriends during her college years - nothing serious - but she doesn't do hookups. Her Great Aunt Bette, eighty-three and a real firecracker, pays her tuition and provides a room in exchange for being a caretaker. This is the first time she has felt like she has a home, but it all ends in four months.
Talon Gold, a senior and PVU's star quarterback, is a ladies' man extraordinaire. He was born with a silver spoon, but money doesn't buy everything. His father died when she was six, and his mom is a ghost of the person she once was. His stepfather has pushed him relentlessly, to the point that he began to question why he even played football.
Winning defines Talon. He sets his mind to something and works at it until he gets it. It serves him well in football, but the one thing he wants the most seems immune to his charm. He has been trying to hook up with Irie Davenport since the fall semester of freshman year. He is rebuffed each time. He sees that part of her wants him, too, so he doesn't give up.
When fate puts Talon and Irie in a class together during their last semester at PVU, Talon's tenacity finally begins to wear down Irie's resistance. But they have plans following graduation that will take them in opposite directions. Talon's strength and resolve are remarkable as he fights to win his girl. The couple deserves their HEA!
This book is well-written. The plot is complex. The characters are well-developed. The POV alternates between Talon and Irie. I rate this book four stars.
I received a free advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
FROM WHISKEY MOON, BOOK 5:
Grab The Tissues! Wyatt & Blaire’s Second Chance Romance Is An Emotional Read That Has You Aching For Their HEA. It Is About Love & Letting Go, Patience & Acceptance, & Dreams That Slip Away.
Blair Abbott, twenty-eight, has a big personality. She loves to connect with people and has an easy time making friends. She is a stereotypical aspiring actress. She left her tiny hometown of Whiskey Springs, Wyoming when she was just eighteen to follow her childhood dream and study acting in New York. She has made a life for herself in the city, where she now lives in a small apartment on the Lower East Side with her roommate Giada. She is still hoping for her big break. Dating in the city isn’t always easy – there are a lot of big egos – but her biggest problem is that she cannot seem to get over her past.
Wyatt Buchanan, twenty-eight, has always been quiet and reserved. He was slow to speak as a child, and even now he only speaks when he has something worth saying. He loves nature and the outdoors, and he always saw himself taking over the family ranch. He is a cowboy through and through; city life is not for him. He also saw himself marrying Blaire, but that’s just not going to happen.
Blaire and Wyatt had dated throughout high school, but he never wanted to hold her back. She didn’t want to give up her dreams, yet leaving him behind didn’t feel right either. He suggested a marriage pact. It gave her, and him, the chance to live out their youthful dreams and leave no regrets behind. It also gave them the assurance that they would still end up together. Wyatt promised he would be waiting for Blaire’s return no matter what as he encouraged her to leave. Little did she anticipate that he would ghost her months later.
Nearly ten years later, her father’s health finally forces Blaire home for a visit. She worries about the inevitable run-in with Wyatt and the space he still consumes in her thoughts. As they reconnect, they each have a decade of hurt to work through. The couple eventually finds a happy ending.
This story is about an undying love that is all-consuming, one that sustains long after its nourishment is cut off. This is beautifully written. The plot is somewhat simple, but it is layered and pulls you in. The characters are real and complex. They are three-dimensional. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between Blaire and Wyatt. I rate this book five stars.
I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
FROM THE BEST MAN, BOOK 6:
A Breathtakingly Beautiful Story That Takes The Reader On A Soul-Searching Journey And Deeply Resonates Long After The Last Page Is Turned. Fans Of The Alchemist Will Absolutely Love Cainan And Brie's Slow Burn Romance About Destiny, Friendship, And Love.
Cainan James, thirty, never experienced love as a child. He tried to protect his little sister Claire from the brunt of it. It was tough, so many nights going to bed hungry. But at age six the unruly boy next door suddenly became his best friend for life, befriending him during one of his parents' epic arguments. Grant earned his undying loyalty that day. Today Grant Forsythe is more like a brother. Although Cainan's own parents disappeared from his life long ago, he has Claire and Grant for family. Grant did the unthinkable and left New Jersey behind after he graduated from college, moving to Phoenix, but he comes back to the area for work once a month, so their friendship never faded.
A successful Manhattan divorce attorney, Cainan is a great catch. Model good looks, magnetic yet aloof, women come easily. But Cain prefers reading or driving in the countryside alone to having a relationship. He never planned to get married himself. He enjoys casual encounters - the perfect way to slake his desire.
Brie White, twenty-seven, is driven by numbers. As an actuary, it isn't surprising that facts, logic, and pragmatism are the foundation for every decision she faces. She hates conflict so she often has a hard time saying no, choosing to sugarcoat and excuse instead. Her identical twin sister Kari was the opposite. Kari died five years ago in a car accident, but Brie sometimes wishes she could embrace Kari's carefree attitude and be open to a no-strings tryst - she has had no luck in the boyfriend department - but she just can't bring herself to sleep with a stranger.
While in Hoboken for work her life takes a sudden turn when she witnesses a horrible accident. Thinking of her sister's last moments, she calls 911 and sticks with the victim until his family arrives at the hospital, where she meets a stranger who changes everything. Grant happens to live near her in Phoenix. They have so much in common - hiking, music, Cardinals games - that they quickly become inseparable.
When Cainan awakes in the white hospital room, his first thoughts are of his wife, but he cannot remember her name. Claire assures him he was never married. Yet the vivid details of his marriage and the woman he loves are more real to him than anything now. He searches for her face in the crowds for months to no avail, until he one day sees the picture of the woman his best friend suddenly announces he is in love with.
Despite living on opposite sides of the country, fate repeatedly crosses paths for Cainan and Brie. By the time they have the opportunity to get to know one another, things are complicated to say the least. The couple eventually earns a very worthwhile HEA.
The story is wonderfully crafted. The plot is somewhat complex, with Cainan and Brie separately working through various relationships with friends and family, trying to do the right thing as their paths cross. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between Cainan and Brie. I rate this book five stars and strongly recommend it.
I received a free advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
FROM ENEMY DEAREST, BOOK 7:
August & Sheridan’s Romance Is Steeped In Mystery & Angsty Drama, Accompanied By A Few Tears! The Couple’s Chemistry Is Fabulous. Their Steamy Romance Is A Dark Yet Tender Story Of Forbidden Love.
This is the first standalone book about the Monreaux family.
August Monreaux, nearly twenty, is interning at Monreaux Corporation again this summer. He is majoring in business at Bexler, a school just an hour away, known for its fabulous parties and beautiful student population. Despite his perfect SAT scores, he never bothered applying anywhere else. August may be brilliant, but he doesn’t really care about anything or anyone. He pays others to do his work for him – why waste his time when he has a trust fund. He is surrounded by people but has no real friends.
Growing up in the Monreaux family had taught August to avoid all expectations. His childhood was cold and loveless. His father’s focus is his company and whatever woman is currently on his arm. August often wonders what his dysfunctional family would have been like had his mother’s life not been taken. The Rose family is to blame for that. When August sees Sheridan Rose for the first time, he sees an opportunity for justice.
Sheridan Rose, eighteen, is preparing to leave for college. She landed a full scholarship to nursing school at Briardale Community College, a two-hour drive from her home. She is excited, yet the idea of leaving her ailing mother behind has her conflicted. Her mother suffers from nerve and immune disorders that leave her hardly able to care for herself. Sheridan and her father share the task of helping, but her absence will leave a gap in her mother’s care.
When fate brings August and Sheridan together one night, neither is prepared for the consequences. The Monreaux and the Rose families have been enemies for decades. Both August and Sheridan understand that there can be nothing between them. The couple eventually earns a happy ending.
August and Sheridan’s romance is well-written. It is plot-driven. The characters are well-developed. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between August and Sheridan. I rate this book 4.5 stars.
I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.