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She’s on the rebound, and he’s on the prowl.

Aurora “Rory” Pike gave up her dream of becoming an opera superstar long ago. Now she’s content to teach music to the children of Snow Creek while helping her family recover from the wildfire that devastated them. After a messy breakup and a ghost from the past resurfacing, she’s examining her priorities…and they don’t include a passionate kiss from womanizer Brock Steel.

Brock Steel just watched his skirt-chasing mentor—his cousin Donny—give up his playboy ways and fall hard for Callie Pike, sister of Rory Pike, the most beautiful woman in Snow Creek. Rory just ended a relationship, and Brock makes sure he’s there to pick up the pieces. Physically, that is. Emotionally? Brock doesn’t do emotion.

Chemistry between Brock and Rory proves to be hotter than either of them imagined, and it provides a welcome respite, especially for Brock, who’s dealing with a conundrum. As bits and pieces of seemingly unrelated evidence emerge, he must come to terms with the fact that his renowned family may not be the paragon he thought they were.

304 pages, Paperback

Published June 28, 2022

280 people are currently reading
7400 people want to read

About the author

Helen Hardt

203 books8,325 followers
#1 New York Times, #1 USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author Helen Hardt's passion for the written word began with the books her mother read to her at bedtime. She wrote her first story at age six and hasn’t stopped since. In addition to being an award winning author of contemporary and historical romance and erotica, she’s a mother, an attorney, a black belt in Taekwondo, a grammar geek, an appreciator of fine red wine, and a lover of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. She writes from her home in Colorado, where she lives with her family.

Join my official street team on Facebook, Hardt & Soul, for exclusive excerpts and giveaways! https://www.facebook.com/groups/hardt...

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Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga Book 10) is AVAILABLE! Get it here👇
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5 stars
1,563 (69%)
4 stars
459 (20%)
3 stars
185 (8%)
2 stars
28 (1%)
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9 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
Profile Image for TheSassyNerdBlog.
1,100 reviews434 followers
June 18, 2022
Another amazing, hot-as-hell, unputdownable read from Helen Hardt. Smolder is the start of Rory and Brock's story and it starts off with a bang! Brock is known as the manwhore, a ladies man and Rory is on the rebound. They find themselves at a Steel party and end up kissing and from then on, they can't seem to forget about what happened. These two were fire and ice. The push and pull between these two was intense and the chemistery was off the charts. In true fashion, Helen laces the story with lies, deception, murder and secrets and keeps my attentuon from page 1 all the way through to the last page.

Will Rory beable to tame The Womanizer that is Brock? Or will it all fall flat?

Another outstanding and unforgettable read from Ms. Hardt.

5 Stars!

59 reviews
June 28, 2022
Another fantastic book in the Steel Brothers Saga. Helen Hardt again has delivered another fast pace book mixed with mystery and romance. Rory and Brock are a smoldering couple! The Steel Brothers Saga just keeps getting better and better. The ending OMG! I can't believe we have to wait until October! Thank you Helen Hardt!
Profile Image for Jennifer Pierson.
11.7k reviews188 followers
July 2, 2022
Helen Hardt is great at penning romance with crazy heat, strong heroines, reformed player heroes all wrapped up in the perfect suspenseful bow, and I simply cannot get enough. Rory was on track to become an opera superstar but things outside of her control had a hand in her giving up her dream to help her family while teaching music to the children of Snow Creek. Brock is all about the ladies which isn't surprising since he's one of Rake-a-teers of Snow Creek, and he has his eye on Rory now that she's single. They shared a super hot kiss, and while she's got enough on her plate with her life, and he doesn't do emotion, neither want to keep thinking about it. The kind of chemistry these two have is electric so there's a very good reason why they cannot stop thinking about the other, and it doesn't help he's definitely determined to make her his. On top of all this fire between them, there are other things going on which had the twists coming in hot with a murder kicker. The moment I opened this book up, I already knew that nothing else was getting done until I devoured every last page so I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Profile Image for Kika Medina.
258 reviews6 followers
June 28, 2022
You think you’ve had your share of amazing Steel men, but wait until you meet Brock Steel, he will melt you!!
Rory and Brock are just perfect together and I can’t wait where the journey takes them, I loved their personalities and that’s why they are a perfect match for each other.
In regards of the whole book it’s just amazing, so many mysteries so many unresolved things since this new generation started, when you think everyone got their happy ending and the new generation will too, well think again, cause at least not yet and that ending! It seriously made my jaw drop lol.
6 reviews
June 28, 2022
So amazing, I couldn't put it down. The next generation is just as page turning as the first. I cant wait for the next one!!
Profile Image for Serena.
773 reviews21 followers
June 12, 2022
What do you get when you have the most beautiful woman in Snow Creek and The most ruggedly handsome, known womanizer or Rake-a-teers set their sights on each other? You get a story that is so off the charts hot, sensationally seductive and excitingly exhilarating and to think it all starts with a few Smoldering looks.

Rory Pike is on the reboundand is having some serious problems from the past going on. when it comes to seeing Brock Steel though she can't help but be drawn to him.

Brock Steel has always noticed beautiful woman. He's love his share and then some. Known as one of the Rake-a-teers in the small town of Snow Creek. It is no surprise to people that he's always on the prowl. He has his sights set on the most gorgeous woman in town and he's determined to have her in his bed at least. He believes she's just what he needs to distract him from the horrifying problems his family is facing that no one knows the whole truth about.

After a Kiss so hot it leaves both of them breathless and their whole bodies are on fire. Neither of them can get the other off their minds. They both don't know what these tingling feelings are. They chalk it up to great chemistry and nothing more. Brock is not easy to detour away from something or someone he wants so he goes for it. Taking Rory out on a date so she can really see what the whole "Brock Steel Experience" is all about he quickly realizes something he never thought possible, he wants MORE with her and doesn't want just a quick fling.

Rory has so many things going through her head, the past problems coming to haunt her and Callie. Her crazy attraction to Brock. Her family’s vineyards getting back up and running after the fire, but the one thing she didn't expect was the fact her biological clock is ticking and her dream of having a child is coming close to not being able to come true in her mind. Now how she gets her dream is a great obstacle to her and one she's determined to figure out

Brock and Rory have off the wall, fiery chemistry and you feel their passion Smolder throughout the majority of the book. Their Passion is crazy hot and undeniably on a totally different level than anything else they've experienced with anyone else and that scares the hell outta both of them.

Smolder with ignite an inferno of passion, suspense, danger, mystery and emotions deep in your soul. Helen Hardt takes us back to Snow Creek and into the Spectacular Steel World in the 22nd installment of The Steel Brothers Saga. When you pick it up you won't be able to put it down!

Smolder is 5 Smoldering stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Profile Image for Nikki.
30 reviews1 follower
July 25, 2022
I give this 2.5 stars because I did finish reading this. Totally out of my wheel house. When i finished I was surprised that this is part of a series! I was just about figuruing out the plot and sub plot and it just ended abruptly. Not much substance to this one, sorry
Profile Image for Mrs Claire.
138 reviews2 followers
June 25, 2022
I just love this series, every book keeps me hooked and this was no different 😍
Helen has done it again
Brock Steel and his cousins Dale & Donnie are trying to find out what's going on in their family as things start to happen.
Rory Pike has a secret of her own about her past.
While reading this book it had you gripped as Jonah Steel opens up to Brock and what's been happening over the past 25 years and Rory opens up to Brock about her past and worries 😁 and Wow what a cliffhanger of an ending.
This is a must read if you love this series, soo looking forward to Flare the next book ❤️
Profile Image for Susan Mills.
186 reviews24 followers
June 28, 2022
Another great book from my favorite author. Rory and Brock’s story is just starting and I am loving every bit of it. There is drama going on in the Steel and Pike Family and more information is coming to light. As always I have to wait for the next book to find out what happens next and this is why I love Helen Hardt she leaves me wanting more every time. I can’t wait to find out more about Rory and Brock’s story and get more pieces to the puzzle. This is definitely a must read and a can’t put down book. It has it all.
71 reviews1 follower
June 28, 2022
Rory Pike, the most beautiful woman in Snow Creek and Brock Steel, the biggest womanizer in town, come together in a intense, steamy, sexy start to their story. More Steel drama emerges and The Pike sisters continue to uncover their own drama.
I can’t wait to read more of how Rory and Brock’s relationship grow and find out more answers to both families issues.
Thank you Helen Hardt for another amazing Steel Brother story!!
And you are the queen of cliffhangers. Can’t wait for Flare!!
Profile Image for Kerry Embleton.
57 reviews
June 28, 2022
Absolutely loved the start of Rory and Brock’s story and am looking forward to reading the rest of it. Helen Hardt has done it again.
Profile Image for Kecia Campos.
29 reviews
June 28, 2022
Smolder is another great creation Helen Hardt has perfected. I love it. The chemistry Brock and Aurora have is out of this world. I'm rooting for them to be a family.
7 reviews1 follower
June 28, 2022
Helen I have fallen in love with Brook and Rory storey and again you left it on the edge cant wait for the next part of the steel brothers xx
Profile Image for Kassondra Beaver.
10 reviews1 follower
June 28, 2022
Helen has done it again! Smolder was nothing but amazing. Definitely a page turner that starts the tale of Brock & Rory with a bang!
Profile Image for Tina Mitchell.
225 reviews2 followers
June 29, 2022
This by far my favorite Steele brothers book ! Absolutely can't wait for the next one 🙂
Profile Image for Janice Randal.
17 reviews3 followers
August 8, 2022
Shocked

This has got to stop! These cliffhanger got me on the edge of my seat…When is the next book coming that’s all I need to know? 😂
Profile Image for Tabitha Desmarais.
56 reviews28 followers
February 27, 2024
This is like another one of the books leading up to a plot. Once again sparks fly with a Steel. But both have pasts coming to haunt them and they wonder if they will be able to handle their past coming back to bite them in the ass. It was a decently steamy book.
1,136 reviews2 followers
September 2, 2022
I give this a 5 star because so many of the Steels are involved. Secrets are starting to surface. I love Rory, she knows what she wants and is not afraid to go after it. Brock, may have just met his match, let’s hope so. Looking forward to book 23.
24 reviews
September 1, 2022
Always satisfied with the series stories well told. Big Fan.
Profile Image for Ria Alexander.
2,653 reviews51 followers
September 4, 2022
SMOLDER ... mysterious, passionate & unputdownable

If there is one thing I have come to learn from Helen Hardt's Steel Brothers Saga is to expect the unexpected. That is exactly what I received when reading SMOLDER, book #22 in this amazing series. Yet again, Helen leads her readers down a pathway of suspense, mystery, intrigue, lust, passion, and hot, hot steam. This was another UNPUTDOWNABLE read from Ms. Hardt which kept me up until the early morning hours. Brock Steel will melt your heart and your panties, while Rory Pike will have you just wanting to give her one huge hug.

"She has something more. Something special radiates from her. Something that's starting to ignite inside me."

She's the most beautiful woman in Snow Creek, and he's ruggedly handsome. She's a relationship type of woman, he's a womaniser, a rack-a-teer, and when they collide the fireworks explode in a multitude of colours and sparkles. She is worried her biological clock is catching up with her, he has no thoughts of children in his near future. Brock Steel wants Rory Pike, and a stolen kiss has him wanting more, more than just as fling with the effervescent beauty, he wants to woo her, court her, show her the real "Brock Steel Experience". Will he be able to convince her that they could be "more" together?

"Every part of my body is screaming for you. The tickle, the need, the urge, the desire. It's all there. I'm so ready right now."

While Brock and Rory are taking the first steps into their evolving relationship, they are also dealing with the many skeletons that are emerging from their family's and their own closets. The past has come back to haunt them, how they cope with it will be intriguing. For Rory, it is the photos taken of her when she was younger, she has her sister Callie helping her. How can they find evidence to ensure the guilty party is punished for their crime? For Brock, the past is much more sinister, it's Steel family secrets. Along with two of his cousins, Donny and Dale, Brock is determined to find out who has been hiding bones on Steel property and why. His questions lead him to his father, Jonah, who gives him information about what he has been doing over the past twenty-five years. Brock is shocked, stunned, and shattered by the information Jonah gives him. He informs Jonah of what he, Donny and Dale have discovered. Can two generations of the Steel family discover the truth behind the mysteries, especially after the "bomb" that Jonah dropped ... Cliffhanger Hardt is at it again!!!!

"This... passion. I thought I had passion before. I thought I wanted another person before. But right now... It's like I'd give everything up for you."

SMOLDER
was yet another riveting read from Ms. Hardt. From start to finish my heart rate was up and down like a yoyo, my temperature rose with the salacious steamy scenes, and my emotions were all over the place. Brock and Rory were simply perfect together with the heat, lust, and passion they exuded. I can't wait to see more of them. The secrets of the Steel family run deep and keep rising to the surface, asking more questions, and requiring more answers, leaving me sitting on the edge of my seat.

SMOLDER is an ABSOLUTE MUST READ, however, if you are new to this saga I highly recommend starting at the very beginning, book #1 Craving, to have a better understanding of this incredible saga.

SMOLDER: intriguing, passionate, gritty, and addictive

Read and Reviewed for Reading Is Our Satisfaction

✨✨✨✨✨ FIVE ADDICTED STARS ✨✨✨✨✨
Profile Image for Stephanie Erickson.
247 reviews4 followers
August 3, 2022
The Steel and Pike families have past’s that are resurfacing. Can they all make it out of the past and into the future together?

Helen Hardt continues the journey by bringing Brock Steel and Rory Pike together.

Brock Steel is a known womanizer, but he has always had a thing for the most beautiful woman in Snow Creek. Now that she is out of a relationship, will he have a chance? He’s about to find out.

Rory Pike has been claimed as the most beautiful woman in Snow Creek, she’s never admitted to it, but it hasn’t stopped her from having relationships with both men and women alike. Even though she has always put everything into her relationships she has never been able to make them last. They can’t understand her bisexuality.

However, when she goes out with Brock, something feels right between the two, until their dreams and the past blind side them!

As more information is revealed, can they keep everything in check?

Can’t wait to read more!!!
2 reviews
August 16, 2022
Wonderful

Always s great read from Helen Hatdt. Leaves me counting the days to the next release. I always pre-order hers
Profile Image for Abby.
282 reviews
August 15, 2022
Talk about another one of your cliff hangers Helen!?!? Can't wait to keep reading Rory and Brock's story. How much of the past is going to be unfolded??? Can't wait to find out in the next book!
Profile Image for Bobbie.
1,560 reviews
August 5, 2022
Intriguing storyline with plot twists. Great series.
Profile Image for Sarah Slusarczyk .
583 reviews
June 30, 2022
No one does a series quite like Ms.Helen. Just when I thought I had the Steel boys figured out, they go and surprise me all over again. Smolder is the 22nd, yes that’s right, the 22nd book in the Steel Brothers Saga, and this one has all the ANGST. As this book is so far into the series, I do recommend reading them in order, or at least the last few. There are enough details given in Smolder to not leave a newbie reader lost, but the series is amazing and you get more out of the book with previous reads.

Rory is on the rebound after ending a not so great relationship. When this happens, reality strikes, and Rory starts to put her life into perspective. She had to give up her dream of becoming an opera singer, but she won’t give up on the next thing she wants. And that’s a baby. Maybe being known as the most beautiful woman in Snow Creek won’t be a hassle anymore, and finding the right baby daddy won’t be as hard as finding someone to spend her life with.

Just as things start to go right for Rory, the Pike’s sisters' past comes barreling through the lives they have built. Can Callie and Rory figure it out? Will the secrets overcome them?

Right?

Brock Steel has watched family member after family member fall to relationships and marriage. Known for his womanizing single ways, it’s never bothered him, until now. As things start to uncover and the “bones” surface, the Steel trio slowly unearth long forgotten secrets. With all this going on, Brock still can’t deny the attraction he has with Rory.

All it takes is one kiss, one that they both know will never be enough. One kiss that ignites their passion, neither can deny what they want any longer, but are they ready for what’s to come. Brock might be the best looking man in Snow Creek but does that make him daddy material? Does he even want kids? What about all his secrets?

Take a deep breath and ready yourselves readers, Smolder is an all nighter read, and one that I guarantee you won’t be able to put down. It’s sexy, mysterious and oh so much angst, Rory and Brock ignite on the pages and have readers begging for more!
400 reviews1 follower
August 9, 2022
Smolder

I really enjoyed reading this book and can't wait to find out what happened next with the steel family. I can't wait to find out who is behind everything this time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews

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