Excerpt Reveal: Just Playing for Keeps (Hockey Ever After #2) by Lauren Blakely, narrators Erin Mallon and Jason Clarke

When she’s fake dating the hockey star, but he was never faking it…

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blakely, comes the next standalone hockey rom com in her brand new Hockey Ever After series, JUST PLAYING FOR KEEPS! This spicy, fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, only one bed in a room, opposites attract hockey romance releases in one week on June 3rd in all formats, and will be free to read in Kindle Unlimited. Check out the excerpt below, and one-click your copy today!

✦ Amazon ➜ https://blkly.pub/JustPlayingAMZ
✦ Audible ➜ Erin Mallon & Jason Clarke narrate in duet with a full cast!
http://blkly.pub/JPFKAudible

Read the Excerpt: 

Lake looms in my doorway, filling the space ominously. The afternoon sun halos his face, highlighting his strong jaw, lined with a beard that looks trimmer than usual. It’s operating at scruff-level now, and that’s unfairly hot. I try not to stare, but my mind’s going haywire, and my gaze bounces all over him. He’s wearing jeans that hug his thighs, a maroon Henley that shows off the shape of his big biceps and the outline of his strong pecs, and a glimmer in his blue eyes. He’s the portrait of the athlete post-workout, his hair slicked back, and wet. 

   “I just took a shower after practice. It dried a little,” he says casually, running a big hand through his wet hair, almost, almost, in slow motion. “But you can just get it a little more wet, right?”

I blink, trying to process his words. But it’s hard with the way he looks right now, all muscular and clean, and the way he sounds, too, all gravelly and flirty.

“Yes, it’s wet,” I say slowly, like I’m mesmerized. Because I am.

His lips quirk up in the hint of a grin. “It is? Wet?”

“I mean, I’m wet,” I correct, then panic shoots through me at my faux pas. “I mean, you’re wet. Your hair is wet. Your hair is plenty wet. For a haircut that is. Wet enough for a haircut.”

That grin grows wider. He cocks his head. “So everything’s wet, Remy? That’s what I’m hearing?”

I clench my thighs, even though they ache. “Yep.”

I turn around so he can’t see the heat spreading across my cheeks. Not that it matters. Pretty sure he knows it’s there, and he’s the one responsible for it.

“Come inside,” I say, but then my mind replays my words. Come inside?

I need to get it together.

“Oh I definitely will.”

About JUST PLAYING FOR KEEPS (Coming 6/3/2026):

Ever hear the story about the dating coach who got dumped on the hockey arena’s jumbotron?

Everyone did. But I lived it. Including the moment when the team’s broody, tattooed star Lake Axelrod swooped in on skates to rescue me from public humiliation.

Even more surprising? When the famously grumpy (and ridiculously sexy) hockey player insists on being my fake boyfriend for my sister’s high-profile wedding. It’s the perfect sweet revenge plan since my ex is the best man. Bonus – I might even salvage my professional reputation.

We need rules though.

1. To pull this off, everyone from his teammates to my boss has to believe we’re a real couple.

2. That means swoony touches and knee-weakening kisses are required.

3. When it ends, we walk away.

But the intensity in Lake’s eyes after every post-game kiss makes me wonder if he’s pretending. With each whispered secret, the line between fake and real bends. Until it shatters one night in a hotel room.

Soon, he isn’t just playing the protective boyfriend—he’s the only one who truly sees me.

If I’m not careful, I’m going to break the most important rule of all: don’t fall for your fake date.

This is Lake and Remy's romance. Tropes include: grumpy/sunshine hockey romance, fake dating, workplace romance, best friend's brother, obsessed hero

PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY!

✦ Amazon ➜ https://blkly.pub/JustPlayingAMZ
✦ Audible ➜ Erin Mallon & Jason Clarke narrate in duet with a full cast!
http://blkly.pub/JPFKAudible

ABOUT LAUREN BLAKELY:

A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s sexy, feel-good and witty. Her books have been featured in US Weekly and People. Lauren likes dogs, cake and show tunes and she is the vegetarian at your dinner party. 

Connect w/ Lauren:

Website: laurenblakely.com 

NL Signup: http://laurenblakely.com/newsletter  

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LaurenBlakelyBooks

Instagram: http://instagram.com/laurenblakelybooks

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@laurenblakelybooks 

Teaser: Dona Nobis Pacem (God Grant Us Peace) by Will Okati with an excerpt

Dona Nobis Pacem

by Will Okati

Historical Gay Romance

Date Published: May 29, 2026

Publisher: Changeling Press

 

Dona Nobis Pacem. God Grant Us Peace.

 

Voiceless Donnell and defrocked priest Nathan are outcasts and strangers at the turn of the century. Despite his handicap, Donnell has made a life for himself as a businessman and owner of a saloon. His heart goes out to those whom life has dealt an unhappy hand. When Nathan arrives in this former gold-rush town, horsewhipped and ill to the point of collapse, Donnell is the only one to offer help.

Barely ordained before being accused of unnatural desires, Nathan has been sent to travel a faux road to Damascus as penance. He did not expect to survive the trek, and longed for the peace he might find when his body gave up the fight.

He never expected to meet someone like Donnell. Despite his lack of voice, Donnell is the teacher Nathan has hungered for all his life, and the lover he never dared seek out. Triumphing over a lifetime's worth of threatened damnation will not be easy to overcome, but Donnell's not giving up. The passion they share is what both men have always craved, but never found. When they're discovered, standing together is the only thing that will save them both.

 

EXCERPT

 In a fit of optimism, some enterprising settler twenty-odd years ago had named this patch of land "Shady Grove." The name hadn't stuck longer than the first summer, arid heat scorching the life out of anything the daft fellow had tried to plant, and carrying away his wife and children.

After that, or so the story went, the settler had cursed his homestead with the new name of "Hell."

When gold was found not far west in a puny stream, the name changed yet again to "El Dorado." Though that lasted no longer than the rush of miners who picked, panned and mined away most of the precious metal.

When the gold was mostly gone and civilization caught up with the roughneck men who'd blazed through in search of riches, there came bankers, lawyers and doctors, along with their pretty wives and dainty daughters. Amongst themselves, they'd formed a quaint city council, elected a mayor, nominated a marshal, and rechristened this hole in the ground as "Nazareth."

Those whose tongues weren't corseted by the niceties observed in polite society still called the former boomtown "Hell."

As for Donnell, he called it home, and had since the day he was born, a silent infant who'd opened his mouth to wail, but made almost no sound, not then and rarely ever afterward. The best he could manage was a sort of scale of breathing -- a whistle, a shush, a sigh. He'd never spoken a proper word. At least his hearing was top-notch.

Music was Donnell's voice instead, tickled out through the ivories of the old upright piano he'd paid a considerable sum in gold dust to have shipped from Chicago. Within the safe haven of Treighton's saloon, Donnell had placed that piano facing the street, where he'd have a fine view through the mosquito netting over the window when he played.

He could arrange Treighton's however he wanted, no questions asked. Owner's rules and that owner would be him.

Music wasn't his only skill. He was a favored son of Lady Luck, and the cards danced to his tune. Those who thought a mute man was simple, and an easy cheat at faro, often found themselves losing big.

He'd given up the game after winning Treighton's, though. No sense in pushing his luck too far.

A man who'd call himself satisfied with his lot in life, Donnell caressed the piano keys, a jingling tune flowing smooth and sweet as quality whiskey under his mastery of the music. He let the corner of his mouth quirk upward with dry humor. Many were they who'd claimed the son of a whore, muteness aside, would never make anything of his life. They'd been wrong, too.

Did they accept his good fortune with grace? Hell, no. The "proper" folks of Nazareth scorned him still, and always would. Too good for the likes of him and his saloon.

Thank God for sinners, eh?

* * *

A sudden clamor rose from the dusty, uneven street outside, usually quiet and deadly dull during the morning hours while laborers and leftover miners toiled, polite society occupied themselves with polite works, and gamblers slept off their night's fun. Attention captured, Donnell peered through the mosquito netting over his window.

Soon enough, the source of the commotion came into view. Donnell raised one eyebrow, intrigued. A tall, lean man, far too thin for his height. He was dressed in the tattered remnants of a once-respectable shirt, now missing its collar and cuffs, and formerly sturdy denim trousers, with no hat on his head nor shoes on his feet nor a coat on his back. Bleached-out hair stringy from lack of washing and long enough to be caught up in a queue hung over his face and tangled across his eyes.

Donnell leaned forward, instantly captivated. He'd never seen the equal of those eyes, their color distinct even at this distance. Aqua blue, the shade of summer skies, dulled by hunger and pain, but no less remarkable.

In point of fact, were he to be cleaned up and provided with a few good healthy meals, Donnell guessed this young man would easily steal anyone's heart away. Not least of all his.

Not that anyone knew about his preferences. It was safer that way. He came in for scant questioning about his lack of female companionship, as most thought if his tongue didn't work then neither would his cock.

Donnell abandoned those thoughts and focused on the beautiful -- yes, beautiful -- young man instead, a far more pleasant diversion. He'd no stubble on his cheeks or chin, both badly sunburned. Young, then. Tall and gangly enough that at a guess Donnell would have put him in his late teens, no more than twenty, not so far Donnell's junior.

A man could make quite a lot of himself in twenty years plus change. He could raise himself a fine establishment like Donnell's, or he could end up staggering filthy and starving down a dusty, badlands street with children and bad-tempered dogs jeering him every barefooted step of the way.

Donnell frowned when the young man staggered, swaying alarmingly before righting himself. That didn't seem to be clumsiness, but rather weariness. Perhaps illness?

"Drunk," Bettina sniffed, peering past Donnell. She might work in a saloon, but she had no patience with men who behaved badly when they'd had too much of the grape and grain. She didn't scold like the holy men, no, she tore strips off their hides and nailed them to the wall, and they loved her for it.

Barely hearing her, Donnell continued to track the man's progress. Seeming to ignore the rabble jeering at him, he came to a stop and stood up as straight as he could, attempting to brush dust, mud and worse off his clothes, smoothing them down. He dragged his hair out of his face with hands that shook minutely and gazed up the length of the street still to go.

The quiet despair in his eyes struck a chord in Donnell's heart, reverberating with a sense of hollow misery. Here was a man who'd fallen as far as he could go, with a trail of heartbreak behind him that stretched out for as many miles as he'd walked.

Donnell sat back and drummed his fingers on his knees. Poor bastard.

Enough kind souls had helped Donnell in his day. He owed this poor fellow no less.

 

About the Author

Willa Okati (AKA Will) is made of many things: imagination, coffee, stray cat hairs, daydreams, more coffee, kitchen experimentation, a passion for winter weather, a little more coffee, a whole lot of flowering plants and a lifelong love of storytelling. Will's definitely one of the quiet ones you have to watch out for, though he -- not she anymore -- is a lot less quiet these days.

 

Will on Facebook

Will on Instagram

Will on Goodreads

 

Publisher on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok: @changelingpress

 

Pre-Order Today

Preorder: Sweet Trouble by Clara Pines and Unscripted Christmas by Tess Thompson (Sugarville Grove Series)

Welcome back to the small town of Sugarville Grove!

- Escape to Vermont with this wholesome and sweet romance series -

Sweet Trouble by Clara Pines releases on June 16th - https://geni.us/2CDyM

Unscripted Christmas by Tess Thompson June 18th - https://geni.us/UnscriptedChristmas

https://geni.us/SugarvilleGroveSeries

BINGE THE WHOLE SERIES!

SWEET TROUBLE

Can this former bad boy show his high school crush he has what it takes to be her man?

Tripp Lawrence earned his reputation as Sugarville Grove’s biggest heartbreaker. And even if the title doesn’t fit him anymore, it doesn’t matter. He won’t let himself get tied down to a woman now, because the only one who ever really caught his eye got away years ago.

They say opposites attract, and that couldn’t have been truer for Tripp’s teen infatuation with smart, serious Jillian Johnson. But even though his popularity and athletic prowess back then had every other girl in school weak in the knees, Jillian wouldn’t give him the time of day. And when she moved away he pretty much gave up on ever finding the one.

But when Jillian returns to small town Sugarville Grove just in time for the holidays with two adorable little girls in tow, Tripp finds his heart pounding and his palms sweating over his crush all over again.

If only he hadn’t made such a terrible impression on her back in high school…

Can Tripp reform his ways and show Jillian that he’s a new man now?

It might just take a Christmas miracle, the help of the whole crew at the Lawrence family farm, and two very special little girls…

UNSCRIPTED CHRISTMAS

Can a Hollywood star and a small-town speech therapist turn their impossible attraction into forever?

Jason Hayes has spent years chasing success and finally catching it. With a hit television show, a producer credit, and a future locked in Hollywood, he should feel fulfilled. Instead, when filming shuts down for December, he finds himself craving something fame has never given him. So he heads home to Sugarville Grove… and straight back into the orbit of the woman he can't stop thinking about.

Mauve didn't plan to fall for a famous actor, especially not after rebuilding her life post-divorce. Trading New York City for a quiet Vermont town gave her peace, purpose, and a job she loves helping children find their voices. Jason was supposed to be a fun, fleeting holiday spark. Nothing more.

Then came three perfect days in Los Angeles. Now he's back for Christmas and unable to stay away from the woman who's been on his mind ever since.

As snowy nights, cozy traditions, and Sugarville Grove’s tight-knit community pull them closer, Mauve sees past the celebrity to the man beneath—the one who's always dreamed of the family he never had. Jason, meanwhile, begins to wonder if the life he's built means anything without someone to share it with.

They want the same things. They just live in different worlds.

This Christmas, they'll have to decide whether to chase separate dreams on opposite coasts or risk everything for the love they both want.

 

Teaser: Owen by Cassie Colton

Owen by Cassie Colton releases on June 9th!

https://geni.us/Owen

Read With Kindle Unlimited

After ten years of silence, Owen Wolfe returns to Wolfe Mountain to lay his father to rest and face the five brothers he left behind after a bitter family rift. The plan is simple—settle the estate and walk away again.

But Jeremiah Wolfe had other ideas.

At the reading of the will, the brothers learn their father left the rundown Wolfe Mountain resort, along with its abandoned cabins, failing ski lodge, and the legendary wolf-shaped peak, to all his sons… including one they’ve never met. There’s only one condition: every brother must remain on the mountain for one full year or lose everything. The mountain will go to Leslie Wilkins, Owen’s former fiancée.

If they stay, a five-million-dollar purchase offer is waiting at the end of that year.

As suspicion grows and secrets begin to surface, the Wolfe brothers must put aside a decade of anger to uncover the truth about their father’s death… and decide whether Wolfe Mountain is worth saving.

But for Owen, the greatest battle isn’t on the mountain. It’s proving to Leslie that the man who once walked away is not the same man who returned.

Because losing his family again isn’t an option.

 

Release Boost: A Forced Bond (Dark Pack Series #1) by Ann D. Lang

A Forced Bond (Dark Pack Series #1) by @anndlang is 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘

#DownloadFree with #KindleUnlimited
➜ https://mybook.to/ForcedBond_ADL

★★★★★ Amazon Review ~ "This is a new to me author but wont stay that way. I loved loved this book.....If you like paranormal especially Werewolves and pack bonds , arranged marriage ( or mating) you will love this."

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭
✔︎ Adult Paranormal Romance
✔︎ Werewolf Shifter Romance Forced Mate Bond
✔︎ Forced Mate Bond
✔︎ Fated Mates (revealed at the end)
✔︎ Wolf Shifter FMC
✔︎ Future Alpha MMC
✔︎ Pack Alliance Marriage
✔︎ Instant Attraction
✔︎ New Adult
𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞...

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Hosted by Enticing Journey Book Promotions

 

Ebook Review: A Bride for Griffin (Songbird Junction #3) by Jacqui Nelson

 

Blurb: 

Can a sister who’s lost her voice find harmony with the right man?
Singing with her sisters was Wren’s refuge until they tried to flee their sadistic troupe manager, who retaliated by choking her until he crushed her voice. She only survived because a huge Welshman, with a personality as fiery as his red hair, taught her how to fight. She’s dreamed of sharing a future with him—if she can alter his misconceptions about both of them.

Can she convince him they belong together, or is she destined to a silent life alone?

Working with his brothers to raise their younger sister was Griffin Llewellyn’s purpose until all three of his siblings got married in the space of a month, leaving him alone to safeguard the woman he’s dreamed of marrying. But he can’t because she’s lived a life of oppression, only asked for one thing—his help, and he’s vowed to protect her from every threat, including himself.

Can he save her from his temper and the violence that first fractured his family, or will he be her ultimate downfall?

Perfect for readers who love:

• Western historical romance with a dash of mystery and a heap of adventure
• Opposites attract (he's Welsh; she's Irish Cree)
• Found / chosen family (the Llewellyns, the Songbird Sisters, the Peregrines, and the Treloars)
• Grumpy / sunshine pairings (he's the grumpy one)
• Close proximity in small towns and wilderness settings
• Redemption for lost souls who are confronted by secrets and lies
• Second chances at love
• Emotionally intense, slow-burn romance

A note about story connections:

• A Bride for Griffin is the third book in the Songbird Junction Trilogy. It can be read standalone, but the three books contain an overarching plotline about the Songbird Sisters' troupe manager, Ulysses T. Stone.
• The story includes guest appearances from characters (such as reader-favorite Grandpa Gus Peregrine) featured in my two Noelle, Colorado, Christmas stories: The Calling Birds (set in 1876) and Robyn: A Christmas Bride (set in 1877).

SONGBIRD JUNCTION TRILOGY

• Book 1 - A Bride for Brynmor
• Book 2 - A Bride for Heddwyn
• Book 3 - A Bride for Griffin

Welcome to Songbird Junction, where Welsh meets West in Colorado, 1878. The journey to find a forever home and more starts here. Brynmor, Heddwyn, and Griffin Llewellyn are three Welsh brothers bound by blood and a passion for hauling freight—in Denver, where hard work pays. Lark, Oriole, and Wren are three Irish-Cree Métis sisters-of-the-heart bound by choice and a talent for singing—in any place that pays.

Amazon: Amazon.com: A Bride for Griffin: A Llewellyn Brothers Western Historical Romance (Songbird Junction Book 3) eBook : Nelson, Jacqui: Kindle Store

Bookbub: A Bride for Griffin: A Llewellyn Brothers Western Historical Romance (Songbird Junction Book 3) by Jacqui Nelson - BookBub

Goodreads: A Bride for Griffin by Jacqui Nelson | Goodreads

My Review - 5 of 5 stars - 

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, and what a way to end. Wren and Griffin had come a long way. With everything that was thrown at them, including kidnapping, cold weather, long rides on horses, learning to trust strangers, and a growing family, the truth of their feelings for each other came out. I loved that Griffin had wanted to protect Wren while teaching her how to defend herself. He learned to play a mandolin for her. Wren finally realized that he misunderstood her in the past, and she gladly corrected that. The supporting characters had me smiling a lot, and it was wonderful to see how they all interconnected. A wonderful story.

I received an ARC, and this is my unsolicited review.

Teaser: Tethered by the Sea (Saltbone Sinners MC #1) by India R. Adams and Nikki Landis

Tethered By The Sea by India R Adams and Nikki Landis is coming to all platforms on June 26, 2026.

"Everyone had to let us go... without a trace to be followed."

Pre-order now:  https://books2read.com/TetheredbytheSea

Sign up to help promote: https://bit.ly/TetheredbytheSeaSIGNUP

#indiaradams #nikkilandis #mcromance #comingsoon

 

Blitz: Voices Carry Here by Gail Galotta with a giveaway

Voices Carry Here

by Gail Galotta

Mystery and Suspense

Date Published: 05-04-2026

Publisher: Mission Point Press

Do you hear the voices? Listen if you dare . . . You’ll get both the heebies and the jeebies in this unsettling new title.

A henpecked husband learns that “till death do us part” isn’t the end of the story when his dead wife returns.

A newly retired couple uncovers a pestilent secret buried beneath their dream home.

A young woman retreats to the countryside to discover herself, only to stumble upon an unsolved tragedy calling out for justice.

Voices Carry Here is a collection of short stories steeped in mystery, suspense, and the supernatural. Set against the beauty of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, these tales will reveal secrets just beneath the surface of tranquil lakes, cries for help echoing from shadowed campgrounds, and small-town characters experiencing extraordinary circumstances.

Blending chills with warmth, author Gail Galotta’s flair for supernatural suspense is tempered with touches of humor, romance, and nostalgia.

 

About the Author

Gail Galotta was raised in Chicago with childhood summers in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

She’s always been drawn to the mystical pull of water, which often shapes the settings of her stories. An award-winning writer and former English teacher, she lives in Vulcan, Michigan, overlooking the same lake that inspired her earliest work. When asked what inspires her latest fiction, she offers only a cryptic smile.

Contact Links

Website

Goodreads

Purchase Links

https://mybook.to/VoicesCarryHere

Amazon

Bookshop

Sale!!! Rejected by the Alpha (Black River Pack #1) by Luna Wilder, 99 cents for a limited time

Rejected By The Alpha by Luna Wilder is 99c for a limited time!

https://geni.us/RejectedByTheAlphaLW
Available on All Platforms
 

✔️ Fated Mates

✔️ Rejected Mate Romance

✔️ Alpha Wolf Shifter Romance

 

No one rejects their fated mate. Right?
 

As the Alpha of the Black River Pack, Killian has to be strong. He's been the leader since his father died and now it's time for him to think about finding his mate. When he pictures her in his head, she's strong, maybe a wolf like him.
 

Then he smells her and she's nothing like he thought she would be.
 

Sascha is a deer shifter. She's always been the runt of any pack and has been cast aside more times than she can count. She's always gotten over the hurt because she knew that one day she would find her fated mate and finally have a place where she's wanted.

Then she meets Killian and he's nothing like she thought he would be.
 

After Killian rejects her, he realizes his mistake. Will he be able to win her back or has Sascha been pushed away one too many times?

 

*If you like sexy, shifter paranormal romances, with humor, steam, a tough heroine and a sexy hero, then this book is for you!

 

Release Boost: Every Shattered Note (Heartbreak Mixtapes #3) by Claudia Burgoa

Every Shattered Note 

by Claudia Burgoa 

Available now!

https://geni.us/ShatteredNote

Read With Kindle Unlimited

From USA Today bestselling author Claudia Burgoa comes a slow-burn, mistaken-identity romance about hidden fame, second chances at life, and the woman who accidentally falls for a rockstar in disguise.

I plan other people’s love stories for a living. Perfect nights. Perfect moments. Perfect control.

So when my guitarist cancels an hour before a high-profile event, I do what any professional would do—panic quietly and pray for a miracle.

Then he walks in.

Late. Soaked from the rain. Incredibly handsome. Unapologetically charming.

A man I absolutely shouldn’t notice.

He plays music like the storm outside taught him how to feel.

He saves the night. And without meaning to, he starts unraveling mine.

I don’t know that he’s a world-famous musician in hiding.

I only know that when he looks at me, the world stops spinning.

I build love stories for other people. It’s chaotic, but it’s always strategic, straight-forward.

But this time, the one falling—hard, fast, and completely unplanned—is me.

There’s no seating chart that can contain, or explain, the storm that is Dexter Vaughn. But maybe his humor, guitars, and big heart is exactly what I need to build my own breathtaking love story.