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The Paradise #3
Until It Gets Real
Not yet published
Expected 7 Jul 26 Fake relationship in progress. Try not to fall in love.
Charlotte “Lottie” Johnston, the only woman on her construction crew, has had enough or the catcalls, teasing, and flirting from the men on her team. So when she spots Knox Callahan on the job site, she hatches a a fake boyfriend arrangement to keep the guys in line.
Knox agrees. After all, pretending to date Lottie might also keep his meddling Aunt Bernie from setting him up with a date every weekend. What starts as a simple arrangement soon is anything but as the crew looks for signs to prove Lottie and Knox are pretending.
Between long workdays, shared lunches, and stolen laughs, their make-believe romance begins to feel dangerously real. But while Knox’s roots are planted deep in small-town soil, Lottie’s work will send her hours and miles away. Settling down in one place might be scary, but that's what it will take to build a life together.
Charlotte “Lottie” Johnston, the only woman on her construction crew, has had enough or the catcalls, teasing, and flirting from the men on her team. So when she spots Knox Callahan on the job site, she hatches a a fake boyfriend arrangement to keep the guys in line.
Knox agrees. After all, pretending to date Lottie might also keep his meddling Aunt Bernie from setting him up with a date every weekend. What starts as a simple arrangement soon is anything but as the crew looks for signs to prove Lottie and Knox are pretending.
Between long workdays, shared lunches, and stolen laughs, their make-believe romance begins to feel dangerously real. But while Knox’s roots are planted deep in small-town soil, Lottie’s work will send her hours and miles away. Settling down in one place might be scary, but that's what it will take to build a life together.
- GenresRomance
336 pages, Paperback
Expected publication July 7, 2026
1 person is currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Brown
189 books4,173 followersHi! I'm twenty five years old and movie star gorgeous. The camera added thirty plus years and a few wrinkles. Can't trust those cameras or mirrors either. Along with bathroom scales they are notorious liars! Honestly, I am the mother of three fantastic grown children who've made me laugh and given me more story ideas than I could ever write. My husband, Charles, is my strongest supporter and my best friend. He's even willing to eat fast food and help with the laundry while I finish one more chapter! Life is good and I am blessed!
Reading has been a passion since I was five years old and figured out those were words on book pages. As soon as my chubby little fingers found they could put words on a Big Chief tablet with a fat pencil, I was on my way. Writing joined reading in my list of passions. I will read anything from the back of the Cheerio's box to Faulkner and love every bit of it. In addition to reading I enjoy cooking, my family and the ocean. I love the Florida beaches. Listening to the ocean waves puts my writing brain into high gear.
I love writing romance because it's about emotions and relationships. Human nature hasn't changed a bit since Eve coveted the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Settings change. Plots change. Names change. Times change. But love is love and men and women have been falling in and out of it forever. Romance is about emotions: love, hate, anger, laughter... all of it. If I can make you laugh until your sides ache or grab a tissue then I've touched your emotions and accomplished what every writer sets out to do.
I got serious about writing when my third child was born and had her days and nights mixed up. I had to stay up all night anyway and it was very quiet so I invested in a spiral back notebook and sharpened a few pencils. The story that emerged has never sold but it's brought in enough rejection slips to put the Redwood Forest on the endangered list. In 1997 Kensington bought two books for their Precious Gems line. Two years and six books later the line died with only four of those books seeing publication. But by then Avalon had bought a book and another, and another. Ten years later the list has grown to thirty nine. Last year Sourcebooks bought the Lucky Series which is in the bookstores now. They've also bought The Honky Tonk Series which will debut with I LOVE THIS BAR in June and will be followed by HELL, YEAH, MY GIVE A DAMN'S BUSTED, and HONKY TONK CHRISTMAS.
Folks ask me where I get my ideas. Three kids, fifteen grandchildren, two great grandchildren. Note: I was a very young grandmother! Life is a zoo around here when they all come home. In one Sunday afternoon there's enough ideas to keep me writing for years and years. Seriously, ideas pop up at the craziest times. When one sinks its roots into my mind, I have no choice but to write the story. And while I'm writing the characters peek over my shoulder and make sure I'm telling it right and not exaggerating too much. Pesky little devils, they are!
I have a wonderful agent, Erin Niumata, who continues to work magic and sell my work. I'm very lucky to have her and my editors who continue to believe in me.
Happy reading!
Reading has been a passion since I was five years old and figured out those were words on book pages. As soon as my chubby little fingers found they could put words on a Big Chief tablet with a fat pencil, I was on my way. Writing joined reading in my list of passions. I will read anything from the back of the Cheerio's box to Faulkner and love every bit of it. In addition to reading I enjoy cooking, my family and the ocean. I love the Florida beaches. Listening to the ocean waves puts my writing brain into high gear.
I love writing romance because it's about emotions and relationships. Human nature hasn't changed a bit since Eve coveted the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Settings change. Plots change. Names change. Times change. But love is love and men and women have been falling in and out of it forever. Romance is about emotions: love, hate, anger, laughter... all of it. If I can make you laugh until your sides ache or grab a tissue then I've touched your emotions and accomplished what every writer sets out to do.
I got serious about writing when my third child was born and had her days and nights mixed up. I had to stay up all night anyway and it was very quiet so I invested in a spiral back notebook and sharpened a few pencils. The story that emerged has never sold but it's brought in enough rejection slips to put the Redwood Forest on the endangered list. In 1997 Kensington bought two books for their Precious Gems line. Two years and six books later the line died with only four of those books seeing publication. But by then Avalon had bought a book and another, and another. Ten years later the list has grown to thirty nine. Last year Sourcebooks bought the Lucky Series which is in the bookstores now. They've also bought The Honky Tonk Series which will debut with I LOVE THIS BAR in June and will be followed by HELL, YEAH, MY GIVE A DAMN'S BUSTED, and HONKY TONK CHRISTMAS.
Folks ask me where I get my ideas. Three kids, fifteen grandchildren, two great grandchildren. Note: I was a very young grandmother! Life is a zoo around here when they all come home. In one Sunday afternoon there's enough ideas to keep me writing for years and years. Seriously, ideas pop up at the craziest times. When one sinks its roots into my mind, I have no choice but to write the story. And while I'm writing the characters peek over my shoulder and make sure I'm telling it right and not exaggerating too much. Pesky little devils, they are!
I have a wonderful agent, Erin Niumata, who continues to work magic and sell my work. I'm very lucky to have her and my editors who continue to believe in me.
Happy reading!
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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April 15, 2026RTC
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Excellent fake to real boyfriend story
This was a fun story. Charlotte "Lottie" Johnston, framing construction worker that's always getting hit on by the guys on the work crew, asks the new guy on the crew, Knox Callahan, another framing construction worker (who also happens to be rich), if he wants to be her fake boyfriend.
This works out perfectly for him too because his aunt Bernie in Spanish Forks, Texas was getting ready to set him up on some blind dates.
The sparks soon fly and the fake part of their relationship goes away as they both realize they care about each other. Families meet. Relationships progress. And soon they are having to figure out how they want the ending of their story to turn out.
Great story and especially great if you've read the rest of the series. And I especially liked the animals in the story.
I received this Digital Review Copy from Sourcebooks Casablanca through Net Galley and Edelweiss. Thank you.
This was a fun story. Charlotte "Lottie" Johnston, framing construction worker that's always getting hit on by the guys on the work crew, asks the new guy on the crew, Knox Callahan, another framing construction worker (who also happens to be rich), if he wants to be her fake boyfriend.
This works out perfectly for him too because his aunt Bernie in Spanish Forks, Texas was getting ready to set him up on some blind dates.
The sparks soon fly and the fake part of their relationship goes away as they both realize they care about each other. Families meet. Relationships progress. And soon they are having to figure out how they want the ending of their story to turn out.
Great story and especially great if you've read the rest of the series. And I especially liked the animals in the story.
I received this Digital Review Copy from Sourcebooks Casablanca through Net Galley and Edelweiss. Thank you.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Charlotte Johnston, conocida como Lottie, está acostumbrada a abrirse camino en un mundo donde casi todos son hombres y donde trabajar duro no siempre es suficiente para que la tomen en serio. Cansada de las miradas y de las situaciones incómodas en cada nuevo proyecto, decide hacer algo impulsivo que lo cambia todo.
Knox Callahan no esperaba que una casi desconocida le propusiera fingir una relación, pero la idea le resulta más útil de lo que debería. Lo que comienza como un simple acuerdo por conveniencia pronto se llena de momentos que se sienten demasiado reales para ser solo actuación.
Mientras comparten jornadas de trabajo, comidas improvisadas y una convivencia que no estaba en los planes, Lottie y Knox empiezan a descubrir que fingir sentimientos puede ser más complicado cuando hay algo verdadero creciendo debajo de la superficie.
Knox Callahan no esperaba que una casi desconocida le propusiera fingir una relación, pero la idea le resulta más útil de lo que debería. Lo que comienza como un simple acuerdo por conveniencia pronto se llena de momentos que se sienten demasiado reales para ser solo actuación.
Mientras comparten jornadas de trabajo, comidas improvisadas y una convivencia que no estaba en los planes, Lottie y Knox empiezan a descubrir que fingir sentimientos puede ser más complicado cuando hay algo verdadero creciendo debajo de la superficie.
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April 26, 2026Knox and Lottie work side by side in the construction business. Through the years she has become wary of the single guys who work on the building crew so she asks Knox to be her fake boyfriend to fend off unwanted advances from the single guys who are working on the same project. Knox agrees but the more Knox and Lottie interact to make their made up romance seem legit, the more they fall for each other.
I am sad the Paradise series is ending but Until It Gets Real nicely recaps the families story at Aunt Bernie's nineth birthday party.
Four stars from me with thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to early read.
I am sad the Paradise series is ending but Until It Gets Real nicely recaps the families story at Aunt Bernie's nineth birthday party.
Four stars from me with thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to early read.
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April 29, 2026I will post a review closer to the publication date
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews