The theme for the December OwlCrate was the Power of Illusions

Undaunted (Blood Bond Saga Vol 3)  
by #1 New York Times Bestselling author Helen Hardt
Release Date: 18th December
Genre: Romance/vampires

#Undaunted #BloodBondSaga #WaterhousePress #HelenHardt

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How do you date your best friend's sister? Easy.

Step one: Pretend you want her to set you up with someone else. That will bring the two of you closer.

Step two: Go on date with lots of random women, proceed to get stupid drunk and talk about your best friend's sister, thus gaining the courage to finally make a move.

Step three: Randomly show up at her apartment and confess your love. Women love that, right?

It all seemed so simple. A fool-proof three step process that will guarantee the love of you life to fall madly in love with you.

At least--that's what I thought was going to happen. But my attempts to win over Julia Westin backfired in more ways than I can count. The thing about Julia? She's smart--really smart--and her wicked gaze cuts through all the charm I've tried slinging her way. She's not interested in games, my gifts, or my stories. She might want me too; but she's not giving in that easy...

"We were perfect together. Until we met."

Misha

I can’t help but smile at the words in her letter. She misses me.

In fifth grade, my teacher set us up with pen pals from a different school. Thinking I was a girl, with a name like Misha, the other teacher paired me up with her student, Ryen. My teacher, believing Ryen was a boy like me, agreed.

It didn’t take long for us to figure out the mistake. And in no time at all, we were arguing about everything. The best take-out pizza. Android vs. iPhone. Whether or not Eminem is the greatest rapper ever…

And that was the start. For the next seven years, it was us.

HOOPS Holiday, a Christmas bundle featuring all-new, never-before-published content by Kennedy Ryan, is available now!

Breaking into a cemetery isn’t anything Dante Gabriel ever thought he’d do, but he has no choice. He must recover his father’s body so he can claim his estate. Help arrives from two unexpected sources, but their plan is interrupted.

Erin Hamilton’s best friend is a wolf shifter. The man she loves is a vampire. His father is a ghost. She can deal with all of that, but new worries have surfaced. The missing doctor has returned to the hospital, and his strange actions are disturbing…but not as disturbing as the odd dreams that begin to plague her. She finds comfort and love in Dante’s arms, even as he slowly begins to change.

More secrets are revealed, and Dante and Erin recruit his cousin and her brother to help them find the missing women and discover the secrets of the Vampyre Texts, even as external forces work against them. But as Dante develops some unusual abilities and the darkness targeting him becomes more menacing, he must proceed, undaunted.

Jackal Emerson has never taken himself seriously. Dubbed the “orgy king,” he’s renowned for his reputation as the wild End Man. But with the uprising on the horizon and his best friend missing, Jackal is having a hard time living the same carefree existence.

And then he meets a thief and everything changes.

Phoenix Moyo, principal dancer of a notorious ballet company, lives a life of rigidity. When her world collides with Jackal’s, their chemistry is evident to everyone except her. Forced to work with him to steal the most precious commodity of the Regions, she realizes too late that there is no escaping Jackal’s charisma.

When unimaginable crimes come to light, the Regions begin to crumble. No one is safe. Families divide and secrets are exposed, danger running rampant on every side. For some, sacrifice costs everything.

The nation as we know it is a thing of the past. With the male species on the verge of extinction, a society called the End Men is formed to save the world. Folsom Donahue is one of twelve men whose sole purpose is to repopulate the Regions. The endless days spent having sex with strangers leaves Folsom with an emptiness no amount of women, money, or status can fill.

Until Gwen.

Gwen has wanted a child for as long as she can remember, but when she finally gets a chance to have her own, she uncovers a long-hidden truth. The injustice she sees moves her to help save the men whom no one else believes need saving.

A forbidden love, grown in a time of despair, ignites a revolution. Folsom and Gwen, torn between their love for each other and their sense of duty, must make a choice. But some will stop at nothing to destroy them.

Folsom is book one of the End of Men series.

A jock, a journalist and a second chance . . .

MacKenzie Decker was a question Avery never got to ask, much less answer.
They met when she was a young reporter fueled by ambition, and the ink on Deck's first NBA contract was barely dry. Years later, they've climbed so high and lost so much, but one thing hasn't changed. The attraction that simmered between them in a locker room before is still there. With success like theirs, everything has been possible . . . except them.

That was then.
But what about now?

PERMISSION, the highly anticipated conclusion of the dark and gritty Perversion Trilogy from USA Today bestselling author T.M. Frazier is available now!

“911. What is your emergency?”

Every night, Zara Llewelyn picks up the phone and assists people in distress. House fires. Assault. Motor vehicle accidents. Home invasions...

Between the hours of six and two, she is the answer to a thousand cries for help. But when the payphone outside Zara’s apartment building mysteriously begins ringing night after night, the very last thing she wants to do is pick it up. And yet, she can’t seem to help herself...

Pasha Rivin’s trying to outrun fate. He’s been running from it for years now, but escape isn’t in his cards. As the oldest son of the oldest Roma family in the country, he’s not just a member of a proud and fiercely traditional clan. He is their reluctant king...and now he’s expected to find a wife.

PERMISSION, the highly anticipated conclusion of the dark and gritty Perversion Trilogy from USA Today bestselling author T.M. Frazier is available now!

Limited edition Christmas anthology!

On the 3rd day of Christmas, Amo Jones gave to me…
One hellraising reckoning,
Two loved ones dying
And a broken girl hanging from a tree…

On the 4th day of Christmas, Anne Malcom gave to me...
One prison riot
Two bullets flying
Three mangled corpses
And a psychopath running free...

On the 5th day of Christmas, MariaLisa DeMora gave to me…
One plea for mercy
Two bodies writhing
Three clues to find her
Four reasons to love him
And a man determined to get his life back...

When the lines are erased, the passion begins.

Lines define Tracy Rhodes’s life, and she has no say in the matter once she is sworn in as second-in-command of the free world. But the lines are crushed beneath the boots of her security team’s special advisor during a high-profile event in Vegas. The towering warrior with the haunting stare shatters her composure, invades her libido, and makes her yearn for things she shouldn’t. Sweaty, illicit things…with her body pinned beneath his…

John Franzen, six and a half feet of rigid composure on the outside, is a lost man on the inside. What’s he doing here? A guy isn’t supposed to survive eleven years in Special Forces, especially after the crazy missions he’s been assigned. Accepting the security gig in Vegas is just a favor to a friend—a way to fill time that’s become too damn empty lately. Until the cushy “babysitting job” becomes the most treacherous mission of his life, and the politician he’s protecting becomes the woman in his bed. The lover beneath his bonds. The submissive he longs to claim forever.

She’s destined for marble halls and an oval office, and he’s wired for jungles, dirt, and violence. Will her passion be enough to tame his demons? To claim the ultimate warrior as her own?

I've been looking forward to this series for SO long! Everyone and their mama has read it and raved about it and I've been sitting here, being left out of the loop. Now that I've got these books, I'm hoping to catch up and then read Restore Me, which came out earlier this year. Then I'll be able to talk to people like I have a clue what I'm discussing.

The twisted and intriguing storytelling that you loved in Consequences and Infidelity continues with an all-new alpha anti-hero in the dark romance series Web of Sin, by New York Times bestselling author Aleatha Romig.

The quaint town of Ogg’s Point rests on the rocky coasts of Maine.
Native Rutledge Raines left home with no plans of returning, but years later he is drawn back to sell his late grandmother’s house. He never imagined the mundane task would drop the annoying but sexy Peyton Morgan into his life. Being home forces him to remember why he left in the first place because even small towns have secrets lurking in the shadows.
When those demons are unleashed, Rut, Peyton and Ogg’s Point will never be the same.

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The theme for the November Owl Crate was RISE FROM THE ASHES and included:

I am...

That’s no longer an easy statement.

Who am I?

Since Sterling Sparrow, a man so handsome he takes my breath away and so infuriating he pushes me in ways I’ve never known, came barreling into my life like a category five hurricane, I can’t even finish that simple statement.

In twenty-six years I’ve lived three lives—been three different people.

Renee. Kennedy. And now, Araneae.

They say that I was named after the spider to make me resilient.

Sparrow would then be a bird.

Birds eat spiders.

I prefer to consider myself a cat. It ups my chance of surviving the world I’m now living.

Maybe that’s only wishful thinking because according to Sterling, my number of lives is running out.

There are people who want to harm me, to learn the secrets they claim that I possess.

The only person to offer me protection is Sterling Sparrow.

Can I trust a man who willingly put me in the sight of danger?

What is real?

What are lies?

A promise written on a coaster.
A lost night in a dark room.
Grayson Cole was my brother’s best friend.
He was all of my firsts.
Then he went away...

Drew Harris was just a kid, a senior in high school, my best friend’s little sister.
They said she was too young to know her feelings.
I was too old to have them, so I left to join the military.

Four years passed.
Loss, injury, angry words I can never take back…
I’m home, but I’m not the same.
Neither is she.

Now she’s a woman with flashing blue eyes, long blonde hair, and gorgeous curves.
Still, she’s the same sweet smile, the same sassy mouth…
I could never say No to her before.

A bodyguard, a beauty, and a bet.

“I’m hiring you to do more than guard her, Zander,” my new boss explained. “You’re gonna be her rock. Her human Valium. Her trusted friend. And she’s gonna be your mission from God.”
“So I’m her babysitter?”
“Her babysitter, her bodyguard, her f*cking service doggie. Whatever she needs or wants, that’s what you’ll be. Anything except her booty call.” The vein in my new boss’s neck bulged. “Touch her and I’ll do more than fire your ass, Zander. I’ll rip off your balls.”

My buddies laughed when I told them about my ridiculous new job. They said, “Three months on a tour with a world famous beauty, glued to her hip, catering to her every whim? A hundred bucks says you’re gonna break down and bang her within the first month.”
But I said nope. No way. Never. “I’m a professional,” I said. “Plus, she’s not even my type. And I’m just getting over a broken heart. It’s never gonna happen.”
So I put my money where my mouth was, figuring I’d laugh all the way to the bank. I never thought I’d actually fall in love with the girl. Or that she’d become my reason for breathing.

The job, the bet, the girl. It was nothing but fun and games . . . until it became dead serious.

MISTER BODYGUARD is a standalone, friends to lovers contemporary romance in the MORGAN BROTHERS SERIES from USA Today Bestselling Author Lauren Rowe. The story of Zander Shaw—Keane Morgan's devoted best friend who is an honorary Morgan Brother—and the pop star who brings him to his knees.

First the fire, then the heat…

A brutal home invasion. Two small traumatized survivors who may have witnessed the horror. Lieutenant Sam Holland has never worked a case quite like this one, in which her eyewitnesses are five-year-old twins. But when Sam steps up in a big way for them, she risks her heart as much as her career.

While Sam and her husband, Vice President Nick Cappuano, go to battle in more ways than one for her tiny witnesses, her colleague Sergeant Tommy “Gonzo” Gonzales battles his own demons. Months of unbearable grief and despair come to a head in an unimaginable way that threatens Gonzo’s status with the department and his relationship with his fiancée, Christina.

With trouble both at the precinct and on the case, Sam struggles to keep her priorities straight at home and at work while trying not to lose her heart to her latest crime victims.

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Review

★★★★★

A brutal home invasion, a double homicide, and an arson. The only potential witnesses are two five year old twins who have been traumatized beyond imagination. Lieutenant Sam Holland has vowed to not only solve the case and find justice for the victims, but to ensure the safety of her young charges. With her very unique brand of police work and her bevy of equally entertaining support characters, this story turned out to be a thrilling whodunit!

I met so many wonderful people in this book and I'm more than a little annoyed that I haven't read any of the other books in this series. Nick and Samantha have the sort of marriage that every marriage should aspire to be. They're best friends, lovers and partners. Their love is felt in each and every scene, whether they share it or are apart. After getting to know them in this book, I can't wait to see how they fell in love.

I'm going to start this series from the very beginning. However, that isn't necessary in order to understand and follow along with this particular leg of their journey. It's one case and a glimpse into the lives of the people who help bring it to a close. This particular book will definitely tug at your heart strings and it will be so worth it!

The storm is here. Will it rip apart their fated fusion?
Now that Reece Richards and Emmalina Crist have exposed the Consortium to the globe, they’re bracing for the organization’s full reprisal, undoubtedly led by Faline Garand. The woman, infamously obsessed with Reece, can’t be happy about the lovers’ worldwide announcement.
But an engagement doesn’t mean instant plans of white lace and roses for Bolt and his lady, especially when a key member of Team Bolt goes rogue and destroys half of downtown LA. Taking down his former friend is a harrowing nightmare for Reece, worsened by a shocking discovery that takes its toll in sickening ripples…
Including Reece’s own psyche.
With her man lost in a fathomless darkness, Emma can no longer stand on the sidelines. Pushing past her fears, she takes the fight straight to Faline’s turf—but the risk is huge, and so are the consequences.
There’s no turning back. The storm has broken, and the landscape of Reece and Emma’s relationship will be forever transformed. Can they fuse once more, coming together in love to survive the blast?

The worst betrayals are ones you don’t see coming.

The greatest lies are the ones we pretend aren't real.

But my life is at the mercy of Cruz Solano, the greatest pretender of them all.

Now I have no one to trust, nowhere to hide and the country I love is in the hands of a sociopath.

If I want to survive, there's only one person I can trust.

The same person who is willing to sacrifice love for duty: me

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They call me America's Widow.

They expect me to mourn forever.

But, I've taken a lover.

Someone fierce.

Someone irresistible.

Someone dangerous.

The closer I get to Cruz, the more I'm convinced he’s keeping secrets.

And secrets, I've learned, can be deadly.

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Free with KU

Everyone has secrets, even the leader of the free world.

Even his wife.

I was Ophelia Harris, America’s youngest First Lady.

Now I'm America’s Widow, and my husband’s secrets continue to haunt me.

They continue to threaten my life.

I’m supposed to grieve with the world and keep up the façade of the perfect marriage
and the perfect life.

But I can’t.

Because of him.

Cruz Solano, the man I can never have and the only one I'll ever want.

I once was a hero.
Until she kept me as her captive, tortured me, and killed my brothers.
She bred a monster.
Nothing could stop me from seeking revenge.
But it was over so quickly—her easy death a mercy she didn’t deserve.

For a decade, the burning rage of what she did has transformed into something uncontrollable. Something I want to feed. Something I crave to unleash.

I want to make her pay.
Over and over and over again.

Finding the evil, spoiled women sates my ravenous, vengeful soul.
I hunt. I capture. I destroy.

A feisty gatherer with a dangerous heritage and a mysterious starfarer from a mighty race engage in a delicate dance of love, faith, longing and survival, while the sector burns around them!

On a sleepy agrarian planet, Sila Gatherer hides a deadly secret. Until an accidental encounter with a mysterious alien starship changes her life forever. Star Captain Zh’hir Mu’raat is Ur’quay — renowned across the galaxy as warriors and explorers. Thrown together, the starfarer and his accidental captive forge an unlikely bond. One that is tested, time and again, when Sila finds herself threatened, exiled and adrift.

In a dangerous sector of space where powerful factions battle for control, Sila and the Star Captain must fight for a future together as her ability, Ur’quay tradition and a complicated legacy test their faith. When a powerful foe threatens Sila, they race against time to unravel a centuries-old secret. With the fate of Sector Araloka and the Ur’quay at stake, can the starfarer follow his heart or will history repeat itself again …

Author’s Note: This is the second book in The Araloka Chronicles, a collection of SciFi Romance tales with Space Opera undertones. The story is standalone, though the reader’s experience will be enhanced if the books are read in order.

A hot summer night is perfect for feeling your way in the dark…

For urban-legend hunter and television host Gabe Powers, it’s business—investigate the most notorious haunted places in Savannah. Then he meets his new sound engineer, a dewy Georgia peach who may just turn this gig into (im)pure pleasure. All it takes is one night for them to conjure floor-rattling, wall-banging moans…but they’re not from the ghosts.

Blame the rippling abs, the cocky swagger, the granite jawline, the whole muscle-bulging package, but Gabe is bringing out good-girl Lily Jameson’s dirty side. Damn her code-of-conduct contract—this isn’t just a molten-hot fling.

There’s just one kink in the relationship they’ve been avoiding: soon they’ll be going their separate ways. Lily’s home is in Savannah, and Gabe is a globe-trotter at heart. For them to be together, they’ll both have to upend their so-very-different worlds and face their fears in the process. And suddenly things don’t feel so Georgia peachy keen at all.

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After getting canned from her dream job this morning and played in spectacular fashion by her boyfriend this afternoon, Savannah “Savvy” Valentine is having a truly awful day. Which is why she’s currently drowning her sorrows in whiskey and self-pity in a shabby bar along the route to Las Vegas.

In light of today’s double whammy, Savvy isn’t sure why she’s still heading in the direction of her five-year high school reunion. The only reason she’d wanted to attend the reunion in Vegas in the first place was to show the captain of the football team, the guy who took her virginity and then promptly rejected her, that the captain of the math team grew up to have all enviable hot things: hot body, hot boyfriend, and hot career. Now, the only “hot” thing about Savvy Valentine is her mess.

But when a gorgeous stranger with sandy hair, a leather jacket, and motorcycle helmet walks into the bar, Savvy’s awful day suddenly looks a whole lot brighter. The man is perfection. Sexy and mysterious. And he’s heading to Las Vegas, too.

Can one wild night with a sexy stranger in the middle of nowhere lead a girl to fall desperately and deeply in love in Las Vegas? Savvy Valentine is about to find out.

ERIC MITCHELL'S STORY
I'm the bastard child, son to the mistress, my father's backup heir to the Mitchell empire. He sent me to Harvard. I left and became a Navy SEAL, but I'm back now, and I finished school on my own dime. I'm now the right hand man to Grayson Bennett, the billionaire who runs the Bennett Empire. I'm now a few months from being a billionaire myself. I don't need my father's company or his love. My "brother" can have it. I will never go back there. I will never be the mistake my father made, the way he was the mistake my mother made.

And then she walks in the door, the princess I'd once wanted more than I'd wanted my father's love. She wants me to come back. She says my father needs to be saved. I don't want to save my father but I do want her. Deeply. Passionately. More than I want anything else.

But she's The Princess and I'm The Bastard. We don't fit. We don't belong together and yet she says he needs me, that she needs me. We're like sugar and spice, we don't mix, but I really crave a taste. Just one. What harm can just one taste do?

Don't miss the full FILTHY DUET:
THE BASTARD
THE PRINCESS

That first time I saw her—my mate—I’d been ready to kick some guy’s ass for even looking at her. I made no apologies for my possessive, territorial side. I was a grizzly bear shifter, after all. It was my nature to be over the top.

Bethany hadn’t known what to do at first—being mated to a shifter—one who was grouchy and burly and made no apologies for how rugged he really was.
But she wanted me, my sweet little human mate, who could have brought a beast like me to my knees with just a look.

I’d wanted nothing more than to throw her over my shoulder and take her back to my lair like a caveman. But I let her take the lead, even if my bear wasn’t happy, even if the alpha in me wanted to have my way with her right then and there.

And I would have my way with her. All the ways that counted, in fact. I’d claim her, mark her, and before it was all said and done, there’d be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Bethany was owned by a grizzly.

Warning: Holy moly, this hero’s crazy for his mate, but who wouldn’t want one OTT alpha bear shifter obsessed with you? This story is sweet and sexy, and oh so very filthy. Of course,you get a happily ever after … and a little somethin’-somethin’at the end to wrap it up nicely.

Kisses and Curses Anthology

“This trilogy is EPIC! If you loved TM Frazier's King series, you MUST read the Perversion trilogy!"

- Meghan March, New York Times Bestselling Author

POSSESSION, part two of the dark and gritty Perversion Trilogy from USA Today bestselling author T.M. Frazier is LIVE!