Tropes: Surprise Pregnancy, Best Friend's Older Sister
Small Town, He Falls First, She Fights Her Feelings
Release Date: June 23, 2026
BLURB
Quinn
I have a thing for my best friend’s sister. Charli Miller has always been the woman to own my heart, despite the fact she doesn’t feel the same way. We’re oil and water, fire and ice. We butt heads at every turn, but I’d still do anything for her.
I wouldn’t deny her anything.
Which is why I don’t put a stop to the little arrangement we seem to fall into. Spending that time with her is better than anything I’ve ever experienced, but unfortunately, it makes me crave more. I’ve always wanted Charli, but now, I’m a determined man. Especially when she shocks me with big news.
She’s scared, but I’m ready to fight. Fight for us.
Charli
No one pushes my buttons like Quinn Garrison. He might possibly be the most infuriating man on the face of the planet, and since he’s my younger brother’s best friend, I can’t get away from him. He’s always there, and even when he’s being sweet and supportive, it just grates on my nerves.
Until one day, that irritation explodes.
What happens next wasn’t planned. It’s raw and fueled by years of emotions, and even though I swore it wouldn’t happen again, it does. I let him into my bed and, as time passes, I’m unable to keep him out of my heart. I want everything I didn’t even know I needed, and there’s no going back now.
The first books follow the Miller twins anf their journey to HEA. Quinn has always been friends with their younger brother, Camden. And their sister, Charli, well his lived her most of his life.
Charli is a little older than Camden and Quinn, and when Quinn is around, which is often, they have so much good banter. But she has always ignored their flirty chemistry. That’s is, until recently.
I love these two! Charli was a little annoying to start, but her reasoning for something’s are valid and I eventually grew to love her!! Quinn is such a solid hero and I loved how he never gave up when it came to Charli!!
One more Miller sibling to go! Can’t wait for the finale!!
USA Today Bestselling Author Lacey Black is a Midwestern girl with a passion for reading, writing, and shopping. She carries her e-reader with her everywhere she goes so she never misses an opportunity to read a few pages. Always looking for a happily ever after, Lacey is passionate about contemporary romance novels and enjoys it further when you mix in a little suspense. She resides in a small town in Illinois with her husband, two children, and three rowdy chickens.
Savage never wanted the responsibility of a family, but when a weapons deal brings him face-to-face with a terrified woman and her infant daughter trapped in a sweltering truck, his instincts take over.
Claire’s a single mother used to living under the thumb of violent men. When a biker buys her freedom, she worries she’s been traded to another monster. She starts planning her escape, convinced no man does anything out of the kindness of his heart.
But Savage is determined to prove her wrong. He offers her safe haven and a promise: no one will ever hurt them again. And the moment baby Aurora’s tiny fingers wrap around his, the hardened biker knows the future he’d planned isn’t the only thing in jeopardy.
In the world of the Hurricane Heat MC, loyalty is everything, and Savage is about to show the world exactly how far he’ll go to protect what’s his.
REVIEW
Reviewer: Chelsea
Rating: 4.5 Groupie Stars
This book follows Savage as he falls for a woman he knows he will never deserve, not with his fucked up past.
His home life as a child was traumatizing to say the least. He got out after high school and joined the military.
Savages roll as an Enforcer/Sargent at Arms means he often is the ‘look out’ when deals go down. While ensuring his brothers are safe during a deal, he sees Claire, clutching her baby girl, with a fresh black eye and fear radiating off her. He eventually ‘buys’ her and her baby when he learns they were kicked out of their rivals clubhouse when her baby’s dad, a member of the club, died.
Claire is obviously highly untrusting of this new group of men. She happy to be away from her ex’s club but she keeps thinking Savages club will be more of the same.
We get to catch up with the club since the last book and it was great to see how things have changed! I really loved these two characters and their story!! It was great to see Claire realize that Savage is actually nothing like his name, at least not with her.
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.
A dark atmospheric psychological thriller packed with small-town secrets, buried trauma, and shocking twists. She escaped her past—and the man she never forgot.
Now with two girls gone missing, she's pulled back into a deadly game she may not survive.
Jillian Thorne built her career making the unreal feel real. On Hollywood soundstages, she stages murder, kidnapping, and violent crime with chilling authenticity—turning fiction into gripping entertainment.
But nothing she’s created compares to the truth waiting in Blue Gil.
Nearly six years after escaping her small hometown, Jillian is drawn back by the suspicious death of the town’s beloved high school football coach. What first appears to be a tragic loss quickly unravels into something far more sinister—a dark mystery no one is willing to confront.
Because in Blue Gil, secrets aren’t just buried… they’re protected.
As disturbing clues surface and a brutal tragedy strikes dangerously close to home, Jillian finds herself trapped inside a real-life psychological thriller. The instincts that made her successful in Hollywood may be the key to solving the crime—or the very thing clouding her judgment.
Everyone in this small town is hiding something. Including Jillian.
To uncover the truth, she must break through an unspoken code of silence, deception, and loyalty—and face the past she thought she left behind. Because some secrets refuse to stay buried.
And in this twisted game of suspense, trusting the wrong person could be deadly.
Have you been Aleatha’d?
*Perfect for fans of Sharp Objects, All Good People Here, and The Last House Guest, Rising Waters is a dark and addictive psychological thriller filled with buried secrets, small-town corruption, twisted family loyalties, and devastating betrayals.
This is a complete 80K stand-alone psychological thriller with a STEM FMC who needs to learn secrets before it’s too late. The only connection to Aleatha’s FEAR OF FLAMES is that our favorite podcasters from Crime DailyPodcast are back, showing the readers another perspective.
*You do not need to read Crime Daily Podcast book one, FEAR OF FLAMES before RISING WATERS.
It started with one mystery that led 2 to more. I kept thinking oh I know Nope everytime I was wrong. Aleatha writes twists and turns like no other. I couldn't put this book down I had to know! I had to see how it played out In the end I did figure it out but not before changing my mind a gazillion times.
Loving this side of Aleatha. The woman can't write a bad book!
Meet Aleatha Romig:
Aleatha Romig is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author who lives in Indiana. She grew up in Mishawaka, graduated from Indiana University, and is currently living south of Indianapolis. Together with her high-school sweetheart and husband of over thirty years, they've raised three children. Before she became a full-time author, she worked days as a dental hygienist and spent her nights writing. Now, when she’s not imagining mind-blowing twists and turns or her new lighter side, she likes to spend her time with her family and friends. Her pastimes include reading and creating heroes/anti-heroes who haunt your dreams!
🏍️𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 🏍️
𝙍𝙄𝘿𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝘿𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙔: An Age-Gap Romance, the first book in the brand-new Iron Flame MC series by Hayley Faiman is NOW LIVE!
𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤, 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐌𝐂 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡-𝐡𝐞𝐫-𝐚𝐧𝐝-𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞… 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭.
𝗢𝗡𝗘-𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬!
𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱!
🔗Buy link in bio @hayleyfaiman
What can you expect:
😈 Possessive Alpha
☠️ Touch Her & X
😵 Woman in Over Her Head
🏍️ Motorcycle Club
🖤 Morally Gray Hero
🔥 Fear to Desire
😇 Good Girl Gone Bad
BLURB:
Some fires are meant to cleanse… theirs are meant to destroy.
The Iron Flame MC doesn’t just ride dirty–they profit from it. Torch the building. File the claim. Collect the payout. No witnesses. No loose ends.
I was supposed to be neither.
Just a job. A dirty one–but I made a mistake the second I stepped into their world. I caught his attention.
He’s the one they send when things get messy. Cold eyes. Blood on his hands. No mercy–only control.
And now I belong to him.
Not because I want to.
Because he decided it.
I tell myself I’ll escape before I become another casualty.
But he’s always there. Watching. Waiting. Owning.
And the truth is—the fire isn’t what scares me anymore.
It’s how much I crave the burn.
Preorder available for the series!!! 🏍️🖤
#2 RIDING HARD: A Single Dad Romance
➡️Releases in August
#3 RIDING BARE: A Fake Relationship Romance ➡️Releases in September
#4 RIDING FREE: A Secret Baby Romance
➡️Releases in October
REVIEW
Reviewer: Tammi
Rating: 4 Groupie Stars
Interesting concept! Motorcycle clubs always have illegal connections and moneymaking ways but this way a new one. Arson for hire! No injuries.
I really like our couple they had an age difference but there wasn't a big deal made about more about how he kept secrets and how tricked her into becoming part of hisbusiness. Oh that made me mad!
But in the end and all the business mess aside I loved the together.
Her relationship with her cousin/best friend was my favorite part.
He hides his grief behind charm and easy smiles. She’s spent her whole life surviving on her own. Falling in love is out of the question.
The first time I laid eyes on Adele Jacks, she was staring down a wild animal, bold and unforgettable. She stole my breath before I even knew her name. And I'm the guy who doesn't lose his breath over anyone.
I never planned to fall in love. Not ever. I’m the guy who laughs everything off, the charming cynic who hides his scars behind jokes. But Adele? She’s a force of nature who upends my life.
She's tough, she's smart, and she's hiding something. She's the kind of wilderness guide who can out-hike me any day and stare down a grizzly without blinking. Before I know it, she’s working at my family’s wilderness resort—walls up, defenses sky-high. She’s slipping through the cracks in my heart every time I catch the vulnerability she tries to hide.
The longer I know her, the harder it becomes to keep things light and uncomplicated the way I always have. Because underneath the flirting and easy smiles, I’ve spent years avoiding anything that feels too real.
But with Adele, I want to protect her, claim her, and make the world safe for her.
When a ghost from her past crosses our path, and I see the flash of something she thought she'd buried — I realize there's nothing I won't do to take care of her. Because somewhere between the slow burn, the reluctant sparks, and the small-town chaos, Adele became my forever. Scars and all.
Even if falling for her means finally risking my own heart, too.
A steamy, emotional small-town firefighter romance featuring a flirty wounded hero with hidden scars, a fierce heroine, forced proximity, slow-burn chemistry, found family, and a protective hero who falls hard and fights harder.
REVIEWReviewer: HeidiRating: 5 Groupie StarsOh man it was so good to be amongst friends in Heartfire Falls 🥰
So Adele is tiny but fearless and she’s survived a lot medically and is fiercely independent and I think part of her wants to prove she can do it on her own but sometimes leaning on others isn’t a bad thing anyhoo she loves the wilderness and having grown up in Alaska it owns a piece of her and who better to team up with on hikes other than the Silver brothers 😉one in particular catches her eye…. Cole 🥰😉
Cole and I knew early on he was a goner to Adele “ Adele Jacks was a firecracker to my nervous system “ despite his thinking he’s not ready for love , Adele bowls him over 🥰
Cole’s mother is playing match maker , not that they need help but Adele needs a place to live and the resort needs a female hand when it comes to hikes and activities so it seems it’s a win all the way round 🤗
Adele and Cole were a gift to watch and their story was great to be part of and I can’t wait to be back in Heartfire to catch up with friends again 🥰
Meet J.H. Croix:
USA Today Bestselling Author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. She writes swoony contemporary romance with sassy women and alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. When she’s not writing, you can find her cooking, counting the turtles in her backyard pond, and running with her dogs, which is when her best plotting happens.