Tropes: Age Gap (17 Years), Best Guy Friend's Father
Single Dad, Forbidden, Second Chance
Protective Hero, Sassy Heroine
Release Date: February 22, 2026
BLURB
From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward comes a new, STANDALONE contemporary romance…
When my best friend Taylor gifted me a vacation at a resort owned by his grandparents, the last thing I expected was to bond with a man seventeen years older.
Tate was also vacationing alone.
He’d come to Midnight Key to clear his head and reevaluate his life.
I’d come to get over my high school sweetheart who’d dumped me.
I’d spotted the brawny, tattooed Adonis in the lobby on the first day and thought he had to be someone’s hot dad.
But then we matched on an app that paired single men and women by proximity.
The problem was? At nineteen—almost twenty—I’d lied and said I was twenty-nine.
Tate outed me on our first date, and I fessed up to my real age.
But we continued to run into each other.
And eventually we found our connection was too magnetic to deny.
While we agreed to only use first names and to part ways at the end of the trip, I’d really fallen for Tate.
I never forgot him and knew he was the one who got away.
Remember that guy friend who gifted me the trip?
Well, four years later, Taylor got married.
He’d been estranged from his dad for years, though recently they’d reconnected.
What I didn’t know was that the man I’d had that torrid affair with at the resort would be standing next to Taylor in the receiving line.
My dream man Tate? Was Taylor’s father.
REVIEW
Reviewer: Heidi
Rating: 5 Groupie Stars
Taylor’s father is the exact genre I want to read daily and to have my favourite author write my favourite genre was a complete dream. Who doesn’t love some taboo, age gap, forbidden love story? As all that was in the story I knew they’d be lots of great angst between the 2 characters. Surprisingly through there was a lot of banter between the characters and all the banter levered out some of the angst and lightens up the story some. There was so much to say about this book but I loved everything I’ve said above but I also loved the drama and tension. There was push and pull with the characters throughout which was great. This was a second chance romance and a very entertaining and gripping story
A model-cover paperback will be live on release day.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT
17-YEAR AGE GAP
BEST GUY FRIEND'S FATHER
SINGLE DAD
FORBIDDEN
SECOND CHANCE
PROTECTIVE HERO
SASSY HEROINE
AUTHOR BIO
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.
She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
With millions of books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over forty books. Her novels have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
Jocelyn Hernandez loves romance books, but ever the skeptic, she doesn’t believe that they are anything more than some great fairy tales.
She’s been spending the last year working at a romance bookstore while she finishes her graduate degree. But with her graduation coming up soon, she’s not sure what she’s going to do with her life. She’s been burnt so many times by family, guys she’s dated, and even friends that she isn’t sure who to trust. It doesn’t help that she swears she keeps seeing a man that might be her long lost father. Her head is spinning with indecision, and she feels adrift with no anchor. Can she even trust herself to figure out her next move?
Hutch Cromwell had everything he wanted. He had a perfect girlfriend, his dream career playing football, and an enormous home near his parents’ farm. But when a tractor accident on the farm left him injured, his whole word came crashing down. He’s now living in the city, working in a job that pays his bills, and not trusting women enough to date.
Jocelyn and Hutch have flirted, talked for hours at happy hour, and even given each other hugs during hard times over the last year. But when they end up sharing a guesthouse on a group vacation, their hidden feelings come bubbling to the surface. The only question is: Can these two friends get over their trust issues long enough to give each other a chance at romance?
I’ve been spoilt of late catching up with my book peeps ❣️📚
Everyone needs a little Viking (Hutch) in their life ! He may be a big man but don’t let that fool you his heart is all jello ❣️ hello he’s trying to solve a floral mystery and makes friends with a trash panda and names him/her Clive !!!! How can you not fall in love with him !?!?
Jocelyn love her job at the bookstore and happy hour with Al and the other tenants but they’re more like family really anywho she’s got to write a paper and she’s struggling on what to write and she’s crushing so hard on Hutch so when Hitch takes everyone on holiday she’s both excited and nervous ….
Jocelyn also has dad issues and is convinced she sees him about town and while on holiday in Porto Rica she traces her family and gets to meet people that accept with open arms , it was precious to be part of the family reunion . Everyone jumps on board to help solve the mystery of her dad and I can’t help but be angry with him and sad at the same time such unnecessary heartache that could’ve been avoided
Hitch has family issues as well and restoration of his family is important and again so much heartache that could’ve been avoided so in both cases communication would’ve been key 😉
Hutch and Jocelyn finally cross that line of friends to lovers and man they’re so good together I was cheering from the side and whooping all the way 😍
My heart is full , I’ve caught up with old friends , I laughed ( especially the pool antics ) I cried and just had good time with good folk 🥰📚
Meet SE Rose:
USA Today & International Bestselling romance author, S.E. Rose lives near Washington D.C. with her family.
When she's not wrangling her cats or keeping up with her kids, she's plotting her next story.
She loves all things wine, coffee, and cats.
In her non-existent free time, she enjoys traveling, going to concerts, binging on her favorite shows, and reading, especially if it's a good mystery or comedy.
All it took was one phrase—“𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘢 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦?”—and I was already losing.
To the enemy.
To a Tinder date gone violently wrong.
To the Syndicate’s most dangerous heir.
It was supposed to be my last middle finger to the establishment before they sacrificed me on the family altar of arranged marriage. So I took control. I made the rules. I chose the husband.
Louis De Lange.
The twin who should’ve died.
The traitor.
The man who lost my sister—his so-called true love.
He said he had nothing left. So I made him my weapon.
But the problem with controlling a wolf in sheep’s clothing?
You never see the fangs until they’re already at your throat.
The plan was simple. The timeline set. Sixty days to infiltrate, manipulate, and survive.
But I wasn’t banking on Louis being more than broken—I wasn’t ready for how dangerous he could be when he finally decides he’s done bleeding for everyone else but himself.
I was playing to win.
He was playing to lose.
And we were both about to learn…
The sweeter the poison the more bitter the fight.
To the end. Love. Hell. Or destruction. Let the games begin.
I shouldn’t have expected anything less than my heart feeling like it was put through a blender after I finish a Rachel Van Dyken mafia book. Even knowing this, I was still not fully ready for the way this story went.
Love, revenge and owning past mistakes are all woven together in this story. We get Tempest and Louis, an unlikely pair. They are both using the other, they have been a part of the mafia world since birth, they know how to get what they need and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty.
It wouldn’t be the mafia without death, and let me tell you, it was BRUTAL to read! This isn’t goodbye, because when somethings come to an end, they open new beginnings. Spoilers would ruin this story, so I’ll end with the following.
Blood in, no out; As burns this saint, so burns my soul.
Meet Rachel Van Dyken:
Rachel Van Dyken is the #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author of over 100 books ranging from new adult romance to mafia romance to paranormal & fantasy romance. With over four million copies sold, she's been featured in Forbes, US Weekly, and USA Today. Her books have been translated in more than 15 countries. She was one of the first romance authors to have a Kindle in Motion book through Amazon publishing and continues to strive to be on the cutting edge of the reader experience. She keeps her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, adorable sons, naked cat, and two dogs.
She wanted the parents who didn’t divorce when she was a kid and make her life a living nightmare. She wanted the sisters who actually liked her. She wanted to live in a town where everyone loved her and didn’t have a single bad thing to say about her.
That was not the life Birdee was given.
She had the exact opposite life. The kind of life where she slunk through the grocery store with a hoodie on so no one would recognize her. The kind of life where men like Creed Daugherty didn’t give her a second look.
After years of abuse and heartache, she built walls. Big, huge, thick ones that no one could ever breach. If she didn’t put forth the effort to get to know someone, she couldn’t be hurt.
At least, that was the theory.
She never counted on Creed Daugherty hitting her with his truck. Then, deciding that once he entered her life, he would never leave it.
Though Birdee should’ve known that Creed was too good to be true.
All it takes is one mistake on her part, and Creed freezes her out. Then forces the rest of the town to make it almost impossible for her to live in Sawtooth, Montana, anymore.
Birdee only thought it couldn’t get worse.
But Creed makes sure to show her that it can and will.
The thing about rock bottom?
Once you’re there, you have nothing else to lose.
And Creed Daugherty just made himself enemy number one.
Lani Lynn Vale is an American author of humorous romantic suspense novels. Born in the Great State of Texas, she has lived the majority of her adult life in East Texas where most of her novels are based. She’s married to her high school sweetheart whom her readers refer to as “LLV’s Bearded Half.” She published her first novel, Boomtown. in the summer of 2013 after the birth of her third child. She’s gone on to publish over 100 novels, with most of them going on to become USA Today Bestsellers.