Her past holds her back. His present lacks inspiration. When fate brings her to the house next door, will these feuding neighbors find an unexpected future?
Rowan Mackey avoids attention. Wounded by burns as a teenager and jaded by dating ever since, she avoids romance or anything that puts her in the spotlight. So, when her boyfriend gives her an unexpected public proposal, she chokes on her answer. Longing to salvage her last hope for love and the comfortable safety Dean offers, Rowan buys the perfect little house to fix things.
The problem is her next-door nemesis, Jack Graham—a best-selling romance writer and unapologetic playboy. He prefers throwing parties and late-night writing tantrums to welcoming his unwanted neighbor. But when clashes with Rowan end his year-long writer’s block, he seeks out his reluctant muse under atypical constraints: Neighbor. Engaged. Off-limits.
But boundaries blur with their growing connection. Will Rowan risk her safe life with Dean for the grumpy playboy next door? Will Jack find the inspiration he craves with the one woman he shouldn’t?
She wants something more. He carries scars inside and out. When fate brings them together, can these wounded souls find lasting love?
Lena Buckley worries about everything. Burying her mom after spending the last three years as the ailing woman’s sole caregiver, the distraught thirty-five-year-old feels defined by a broken marriage and failed bakery. Resigned to yet another disaster, she’s surprised when she’s pulled over by a rugged cop… who hands her a note of encouragement.
Ben Wright doesn’t judge. Coping with both physical and emotional injuries earned in Afghanistan, the former soldier recognizes instantly the real pain of the lovely driver he caught speeding. And after more chance encounters, he begins to see beyond the hurt to a warmth and openness that calls to his heart.
Struggling with an anxiety disorder, Lena’s overwhelm is compounded by finances and the pandemic, leaving her to doubt even the down-to-earth lawman could think her lovable. While Ben is more determined than ever to show the complicated woman that she’s worthy, completely capable, and matters.
Can they get past their traumas to find healing in each other’s arms?
You never forget your first love. Or your first murder.
Escaping her mistake-ridden past, smart and sassy book nerd Delilah Duffy returns to the island she adored as a child to reinvent herself as the manager of Beach Read, a local bookstore. With disturbing acts of vandalism following her every step, the message is clear—she’s not welcome. Tensions escalate when a chilling murder stains the floors of her bookstore on the eve of her grand opening, and she’s quickly pegged as the prime suspect.
With questions left unanswered and suspicion high, even from her family, one person stands by her—local cop Sam Teague, her first love and most devastating heartbreak. His kindness and support are an unexpected lifeline if she can trust it. He helps her see her own potential, but she can’t forget the pain he once caused. He broke her heart once—she can’t let it happen again.
With evidence mounting against her, Delilah must use her head and her heart to clear her name before the killer strikes again, even if it means confronting her past and trusting the one who left her broken.
We’re all just one pain away from lunacy.
Book lover and amateur sleuth Delilah Duffy returns in her second thrilling adventure. With her bookstore open and her sweet romance with Sam deepening, Delilah’s finally won the quiet, small-town life she wants, or so it seems. Nothing’s easy, not with continued business woes and leftover trauma from her last case adding to the chaos.
A fancy party at the luxurious Peacock Inn should be a pleasant distraction, but when the party takes an eerie turn, Delilah discovers another mystery – she thinks. Her anxiety disorder intensifies, and with no evidence to prove her claims, she can’t be sure of anything. Even her relationship with Sam feels strained with secrets.
Not one to back down from a challenge, Delilah’s desperate search for the truth soon lands her in trouble with a ruthless criminal ring. Danger lurks around every corner, and she must use all her wits to uncover the truth and take down the lunatic masterminding it all.
With her business on the line and her romance with Sam at stake, will Delilah be able to solve the mystery in time, or will this be the end of the cozy life she’s worked so hard to build?
Some secrets are kept to be kind.
A normal beach life managing Beach Read Books with Sam by her side—that’s all infamous mystery-solver Delilah Duffy wants.
Torture, pain, and misery—that’s all someone else wants for her. She’s being watched.
She’s also worried about Sam—he’s gone and disturbingly silent. Sam wouldn’t ghost her—she knows that—though that’s what everyone thinks. But the longer his silence, the harder it is to make sense of it, especially now when she needs him most. Struggling with Sam’s mystery, she becomes embattled in another.
When an elegant dinner party at Mike’s restaurant takes a poisonous turn, the “book queen with a thing for crime scenes” must do all she can to save her friend from a murder charge. Desperate to break the case before her worst fears break her, Delilah must untangle the secrets holding her hostage while protecting one of her own, and she’s never felt more alone or at risk.
With her future with Sam in danger, what lines will she cross to get to the truth?
What’re ten seconds compared to a lifetime?
Bookstore manager and amateur detective Delilah Duffy knows better than most that disaster strikes in seconds.
When Beach Read’s Happily Ever After Book Bash ends in fiery destruction, everything she’s worked for burns with it—her home, business, and relationship with Sam.
But when Beach Read’s owner offers her two weeks to find the culprit to ensure his insurance claim, Delilah knows this is her last chance to rebuild her treasured bookstore and get her life back.
So, pregnant and brokenhearted, Delilah directs her anger toward what she’s good at—solving mysteries. Hot on the trail of an arsonist while her nemesis is on hers, Delilah partners with her investigative journalist uncle Clark Duffy to piece together clues, confront suspects, and fight for the truth with more at stake than ever before.
Will she solve the case before the pyromaniac strikes again? Or will all her island dreams end in an inferno?
All it takes is one mistake to ruin everything.
With a growing family, a successful business, and a mega-bestselling book series, Delilah Duffy has finally won the life she’s battled for since moving to the island. Almost.
She fears the oasis she’s created with Sam will come to a quick end when Chris Kayne returns for her—a fear exacerbated by media coverage of her upcoming book release and approaching wedding.
When a studio executive’s odd murder thrusts Delilah into the investigation, her fears become reality. One strange death to the next, Chris Kayne is back to enact his dark plans. Or is he?
After everything she’s learned about her supervillain soulmate, Delilah doesn’t believe it—or doesn’t want to.
With the stakes higher than ever and the body count rising, unraveling the killer’s twisted game is the only way to secure her happily-ever-after… if she and her loves can survive it.