Bec Benson is based in the Northeast, lives for the first sip of hot coffee in the morning, and genuinely believes emo music can make you happy. She's obsessed with mgk, a good uninterrupted writing session, and queer romance novels.
Two thousand miles & one night a year in a town neither of us lives in anymore.
MARCUS
Going home is a performance. One I’ve rehearsed my whole life, even if I’m not sure why I keep showing back up.
Then I met him.
Evan is confident, happy, free in a way I’m immediately drawn to. Our chance encounter was only meant to be a one-time thing – a way for us to blow off some steam while we were both in town for the holiday.
But three years later, I find myself looking forward to going home in a way I never thought possible. Evan is the first good thing in my life in a long time. Which is exactly how I know it won't last.
EVAN
I have a great life in Seattle with good friends and my dream job, but it still feels like something is missing.
Maybe it’s being so far from my family. Going home to see them is always one of the highlights of my year.
Even more so since meeting Marcus.
I know our situation is meant to be a holiday fling, but after three years of hotel rooms and opening up to each other in a way that feels like so much more, it’s hard not to wonder what we could be – if he’d give us the chance.
Are we strong enough to survive the distance, or is one night a year all we’ll ever get?
Every November is a standalone MM romance with a long-distance situationship, opposites attract, mental health rep, and hurt/comfort themes. HEA guaranteed.
A beautiful opposites-attract, hookup-to-lovers romance featuring a long-distance relationship and mental health.
Marcus and Evan have a complicated relationship, but their love keeps them together despite the distance. Marcus has struggled with depression for most of his life, and when he spirals, Evan is there to offer support, patience, and kindness. Slowly, he helps Marcus learn to trust him and understand that he doesn’t have to face everything alone.
A thoughtful and beautifully written story that offers real insight into depression and the importance of love, patience, and understanding.
There was a
beat of silence. For some reason I continued to stand there. Rafe looked at me
for a few more seconds, like he was deciding something. Then he lifted his
chin, gesturing toward the hallway. “You just got back from a run?”
I nodded.
“First one since I left Montana.”
“How was it?”
“Definitely
different. There are so many people out on the streets.”
He smiled.
“There’s an art to dodging the slow walkers and people glued to their phone.
You’ll pick it up.”
“I’m guessing
I’ll also learn to stop apologizing to people I cut around. I think I said ‘I’m
sorry’ a hundred times on an hour-long run.”
“Dead
giveaway you’re from out of town.”
I laughed.
“That and the fact that I’m wearing purple. What is it with everyone wearing
black in New York? Especially women. They’re all in black pants, black
leggings, black tops, black coats, black purses...”
His eyes
flicked over me again—this time I definitely didn’t imagine it. “I like that
you wear color.”
My stomach
did a small, traitorous flip. “Thanks.”
Another pause
stretched between us, this one charged in a way I couldn’t quite explain. Then
Rafe walked to the table and grabbed his shirt, pulling it on. It made me
wonder if he’d caught himself looking at me and felt wrong—exactly the way
watching him felt for me.
“I, uh, I’m
sorry Calder and I didn’t make it to your girlfriend’s show the other day.”
Rafe smiled.
“Not my girlfriend and not a big deal.”
“How was it?”
“Good. I like
plays better than musicals, but it was fun watching someone I know become
someone else onstage.”
Maybe that’s
why it sometimes felt like he was watching me—because being around him turned me
into someone else. Or maybe this was the real me. I wasn’t sure who the hell I
was anymore.
“Any good
plans for the week?” he asked. “You start your new job soon, right?”
I nodded.
“The Monday after next. I’m planning to hit a different museum each day as I
count down.”
“Nice. I love
museums. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with dinosaurs. I used to beg my
babysitter to take me to the Museum of Natural History. I’ve probably been
there fifty times over the years. It’s still one of my top two favorites.”
“What’s the
other one?”
“It’s called
the Noguchi.”
“I’ve never
heard of it.”
He nodded.
“It’s in Queens, so it’s not as popular as the museums in Manhattan that the
tourists hit. It has a lot of sculptures, but the best part is the outdoor
garden. It’s one of the most peaceful places in the five boroughs.”
“I’ll have to
check it out.”
“It’s a good
place to think. Or not think.”
I laughed. “I
might need both of those this week.”
He held my
gaze for a second, like he understood more than I’d said out loud. “Yeah…you
should go.”
I shifted my
weight, suddenly aware again that I was still lingering in his doorway. “Thanks
for the recommendation.”
“Anytime.”
Another
pause. Why wasn’t I leaving?
Rafe smiled.
“I was just going to make some breakfast. Want to join me?”
I thumbed
toward the hall. “I should probably get upstairs and shower.”
“You sure?
Your boyfriend texted and told me to keep an eye on you while he’s away. I
think that might include making sure you don’t start any more cooking fires.”
“I didn’t
start—”
Rafe laughed.
“I’m teasing. Go take your shower. I’ll have breakfast ready when you’re done.
Consider it payback for helping my aunt.”
I hesitated.
I should’ve said no, even though everything in me wanted to say yes. But I
didn’t. “Okay. I’ll be quick.”
“No rush.”
I forced
myself to start up the stairs.
It’s just
breakfast.
No big
deal.
Calm down
already.
Heck,
Calder told
him to look out for me.
Still, I took
a little more time in the shower than usual and let my mind wander to places it
shouldn’t. When I got out, I wrapped a towel around myself and started digging
through my drawers for something to wear. One drawer, then the next, and
eventually moving onto the closet.
I blew out a
breath.
I was being
ridiculous. Who cares what I wear? I was going downstairs to eat eggs,
not attend a black-tie event.
And yet…
I sprayed on
a little perfume. Took a few extra minutes fixing my hair. Put on eyeliner when
I normally just brushed on a bit of mascara. By the time I got dressed, it felt
like I’d crossed an invisible line I hadn’t meant to step over.
Or maybe I
had.
I shook the
thought away. It’s just freaking breakfast. I grabbed my phone, took one
more glance in the mirror, and headed back downstairs.
A new, shockingly forbidden standalone from New York Times bestselling authors Penelope Ward and Vi Keeland…
Sometimes one floor is all that separates the life you planned from the life you never saw coming…
Moving to New York with my boyfriend, Calder, was supposed to be a fresh start.
A new city. A new job. A beautiful brownstone in Brooklyn we'd call home. The beginning of our forever.
There was just one catch: Calder’s best friend lived in the apartment downstairs.
Rafe—a gifted artist who smashed glass into masterpieces. With his unruly blond hair and piercing eyes that seemed to see right through me, he was impossible to ignore.
He was also completely off-limits.
Yet somehow, every walk past his apartment or trip to the basement laundry room turned into another deep conversation neither of us ever wanted to end.
At first, it was innocent.
Then I found myself looking forward to running into him again.
Before long, I was creating opportunities to be around him.
Somehow, Rafe and I made each other feel seen in ways neither of us expected.
I tried to ignore our connection, reminding myself that Calder’s best friend was the last man on Earth I could ever fall for.
But with every stolen moment, that lie became harder to believe.
Maybe some love stories aren't about finding the right person—but what happens when you find them too late.
PENELOPE WARD
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 thirty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles are currently translated in twenty-seven languages and have appeared on bestseller lists in the US, Germany, Brazil, Bulgaria and Hungary. Three of her short stories have been turned into films, and two of her books are currently optioned for movies. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
Glitter. Ghosts. One grump, one sunshine—and a haunting that might just spark a love story.
Callum Fraser
From detective inspector to ghost hunter—how did my life go this spectacularly wrong?
The supernatural upended my world, and after some highly questionable training from ExorSquad Ltd., I’m chasing ghosts instead of criminals. My first case as a Spirit Extraction Specialist? A spin studio haunted by things that boogie and shake in the night.
Enter chaos in the form of Beau Montgomery.
An absurdly cheerful American in suspenders and a bowtie who insists on calling me big fella, sugar, and darlin’. Beau’s all glitter, warmth, and a smile sweeter than sin. I prefer order, control, and silence, but somehow he manages to dazzle and confound me in equal measure.
And because of him, I’m beginning to realise the ghosts don’t need capturing or annihilating. They need help moving on. Solving a mystery to help the process along is giving me a new lease on life and I’m starting to think Beau and I could maybe be more than partners in supernatural crime… if only there wasn’t an ocean between us.
Beau Montgomery
I've been talking to ghosts all my life, so of course my first visit abroad was going to be merry old London, England. I have a list of haunted pubs and a Polaroid camera ready to make this the trip of a lifetime.
What I didn’t plan for was Callum Fraser.
Tall. Brooding. Scottish. Grumpy enough to sour a glass of lemonade.
Oh, and he’s the first man I’ve ever met who’s got a bit of The Gift too. He can see ghosts, just like me.
Back home in Mobile, Alabama, when someone blows into your life like a tornado, folks just call it fate.
Now we’ve got a bunch of disco-loving spirits who need our help getting closure so they can move on. Meanwhile, I’m wooing the heck out of my grumpy, guarded Scotsman. Mama does call me the maestro of multitasking, after all.
Callum’s a tough nut to crack, but a Southern gentleman doesn’t go down without a fight. If we want our own happily-ever-after, we’ve got to solve this haunting, figure out what these ghosts need, and somehow keep our spark alive across the Atlantic. Otherwise, our chance at love may end up deader than disco.
“He can’t remember the name, but he does remember dancing.”
I scribble in my notebook: Nightclub?
“Why are you haunting the spin studio?” Beau asks.
“Whatever used to be here is long gone.” I wait impatiently as Jonathan talks to Beau, whose eyebrows slowly wing up higher on his forehead. Then he turns to me.
“Jonathan says he’s not entirely sure why he’s stuck here. It’s like he and the others were in a kind of limbo, similar to a slumber, for a long time. Then things changed and they woke up once construction was finished on this building. But it still took quite some time for them to manifest enough spiritual energy to do any real haunting.” His lips twitch.
“Jonathan says he’s one of the strongest in the group, by the way.”
“If he’s the one making music play out of nowhere and projecting a phantom disco ball on the ceiling, then I’ll take him at his word on that.” Jonathan puts his ghostly hands on his hips and mouths off to Beau about something. I watch as Beau’s eyes widen and then he turns to me.
“He says they have unfinished business.” I don’t like the sound of that or the worried look in Beau’s eyes.
“What kind of unfinished business?” I ask warily. Beau gulps.
“Um, remember how I told you there’s usually two types of unfinished business?” “Aye.” “Well, I’m pretty sure it’s the second kind.” Fuck. A desire for justice or revenge. All signs point to the fact that poor Jonathan and the other ghosts haunting the place didn’t die a natural death. With that, the music cuts out, and just as suddenly as they appeared, Jonathan and the phantom disco ball are gone. “Bloody hell,” I mutter, running a hand over my face.
“This is getting more complicated by the minute.” My mouth sets in a grim line.
“We need to find out more about whatever the hell used to be here and how these poor souls perished.” Beau bites his bottom lip, worry reflected in his eyes.
“He said something else.”
“What?”
His voice comes out in a shaky whisper. “The door wouldn’t open. We couldn’t get out.”
This is a sweet paranormal romance with some serious moments, featuring a cheerful Southerner who wins over a grumpy Scotsman. I loved how Beau and Callum each brought something important into the other’s life. Watching them learn to accept, care for, and support one another was really touching.
I also enjoyed the ghostly mystery and uncovering the truth behind everything. These two make a formidable team! The side characters add plenty of fun, and Poirot the cat is an absolute sweetheart.
This is my first book in this shared series, and I really enjoyed it!
about the author:
Chloe Archer writes queer sci-fi and paranormal rom-coms with laugh out loud humor, zany shenanigans, silly acronyms, and plenty of spice!
She currently calls Minnesota home, but has lived abroad in places like Montreal, Edinburgh, and Tokyo. She’s hoping to relocate to Scotland permanently in the next few years if the stars align.
Chloe is a fur mama to two adorable Yorkies, Jasper and Teddy, and she loves them in a crazy dog mama kind of way. When she isn’t busy writing, she enjoys visiting friends and family, traveling, reading, binge watching movies and TV shows, and practicing her karaoke skills. She does a mean cover of Pat Benatar and Cher, or so she’s been told.
Babygirl by Lucy Lennox is an enemies-to-lovers romance between college roommates Vaughn & Bett.
I enjoyed this story and, by the end, was completely hooked on the couple. They face a really rough road before things finally start to come together for them and their loved one
I love seeing characters overcome difficult situations, find themselves, and build a happier life than they ever imagined. Watching them find their way to each other and fall so deeply in love made this a rewarding read.
This beautifully written story pulls me into their lives, which were once so complicated; now they have a wonderful life together and are deeply in love.
AUTHOR BIO
Lucy Lennox is the USA Today bestselling author of over fifty gay romance titles including the GoodReads Hall of Fame winner Wilde Love. Born and raised in the southeast USA, she is finally putting good use to that English Lit degree she earned before the turn of the century. Lucy enjoys naps, pizza, and procrastinating. She stays up way too late each night reading romance because it’s simply the best.
Dani is an author of spicy romance novels with heart and emotionally intelligent characters. She aims to write characters who understand themselves, apologize when they do something wrong, generally navigate life's challenges without having unnecessary emotional drama, and have great sex.
When Dani isn't writing, she is spending time with her family (both human and fur), drinking coffee, or reading. She has been devouring romance, whether it be contemporary or fantasy, for as long as she can remember and is happiest when discussing all the great books she is reading.
Dani is the author of the Oahu series (four books) and the Boston series (three books).
Oakley Winchester has known who her true mate is for more than a decade, but that hasn’t stopped her from carrying on a casual relationship with both him and his brother for years. With the guilt about her parent’s deaths eating her alive, Oakley would rather punish herself by refusing to pursue happiness.
Still, her true mate has stood by her the entire time, letting her grieve and hurt him alongside herself just to avoid losing her all together. He’s accepted her encounters with his brother and the pain of having to wait for her because he’s the only person who knows why she feels so much guilt.
But when Oakley is finally ready to face her demons, someone close to the Winchester family begins to show slivers of his true identity. Oakley’s true mate has always been able to see through the imposter’s mask, and when Oakley starts to notice something’s off, her mate is ready to protect her from this danger once and for all. But Oakley thinks they can uncover a connection to the recent crimes in the area if she stays close, and she’s willing to risk it all.
Oakley and her mate start their amateur investigation, uncovering information critical to Wyatt’s investigation of Vargkung and the Mirror Lake drug ring. But will it be enough evidence to prove anything? And what happens when the enemy who’s been closer than they all thought possible is willing to take them all down with him?
This book is not intended to be read as a standalone. It is strongly advised that you read this series in order. There is an underlying plot that will not make sense unless you read from the beginning and this book starts where the cliffhanger in the previous book ended.
I was genuinely surprised by how much emotional depth Oakley’s story had. She’s been dealing with guilt over her parents’ deaths for years and has felt like she doesn’t deserve happiness. Watching her gradually heal and finally decide to embrace happiness was one of my favorite parts!
The complicated relationship between Oakley, Reid, and Donovan added so much emotion, messy feelings, and a little bit of spice! I especially loved how patient and loving Reid was with Oakley, even when she was pushing him away.
The suspense around the Mirror Lake drug mystery, with all the twists and turns of betrayal, kept me completely hooked. It was exciting to see how the bigger mystery started to unfold.
This finale was so satisfying! After everything Oakley and the others went through, it was incredibly rewarding to see her finally let go of her guilt and welcome the happiness she had been holding back. What an emotional and well-deserved ending!
